Tim McTyer--Much more than a football player

Former Brigham Young Cougars cornerback Tim McTyer entered the spotlight a week ago when his son needed a new place to play football in college. Many BYU fans still remember how good the senior McTyer was in Cougar blue, but that was all the way back in 1996. Following his playing days in Provo, McTyer was fortunate enough to have a four-year NFL career. For the past 10 years, he has coached football on the high school and Youth football levels. That is only half of the story.

In an interview with him, BLUE COUGAR FOOTBALL learned that McTyer has pursued professional interests other than football.

"I am a deep person," McTyer said of himself. "I think of every possible way and every possible answer. I think that makes me the creative guy that I am."

Creative may be an understatement. Over the years, McTyer has had many different roles in the entertainment industry, including acting, modeling, producing, and directing.  However, what he enjoys the most is stand-up comedy, musing, and movie making.

McTyer explained, "I really love doing stand up comedy, and I love the music industry. One of my biggest passions is to write a script or direct a movie."

Entertaining people has been as much of a passion for McTyer as football.

"I have always wanted to be an entertainer," McTyer noted. "I don't know if that is a Los Angeles or big city thing. ... I figured, I have talent in it, and there was no need for me to let that go to waste.

To help in his entertainment pursuits, McTyer earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Media Production from American InterContinental University in 2009.

McTyer further explained, "The reason why I got into entertainment was because I knew once I got older that wasn't always going to be what I wanted to do. I wanted to do that before I got serious and to be able to experience it. ... I think people should experience things that they want before their life is over."

McTyer recently finished a Masters in PE/Athletic & Sports Business Administration degree from University of Central Missouri, and before "life is over" he hopes to have another degree--this time from BYU. He is working on returning to the Y to finish his sociology degree he started during his playing days. Depending on when the necessary courses are offered, McTyer could be enrolled as soon as next semester. 

Other former Cougars have returned to school in recent years to finish degrees and helped out with the football team. McTyer doesn't plan to help coach, but will if the coaches want him.

"I wouldn't mind," McTyer said, "but that wasn't really my focus. My focus was to come back to school. If they needed me or if they wanted me to, I would totally do that. ... I understand how some of these things [coaching hires] work. ... It is kind of hard to get into that system."

While joining the coaching staff doesn't seem likely, he likes that BYU is hiring former Cougars to fill open coaching positions.

In reference to former players like Mark Atuaia and Garett Tujague being hired as assistant coaches, McTyer said, "I think that is great. That is one of the things that I like, as well, BYU does hire their alumni. You get a lot of schools that is not priority."

BLUE COUGAR FOOTBALL did ask about McTyer's son Torry, and why he ended up signing with UNLV on National Letter of Intent Day (February 6).

Torry had been committed to California. While grades had been a concern before Cal extended the scholarship offer, it appears the reason Torry lost his scholarship was due to a change in head coaches, and the new coaching staff did not honor the offer made by the previous coaches. During the scramble that ensued to find a new place to play, Tim reached out to BYU.

Tim McTyer explained the recruiting situation in these words: "Reached out to BYU a little bit. They said they would see what they could do. We understood that process. From what I was hearing, it was almost another Cal thing his grades or his scores were not BYU approved. You know I kind of think that was part of it, too, but I understand that."

As for before his son committed to Cal, Tim described BYU's interest level as "pretty much like most universities."

Tim continued, "[Torry] was on most of the radars because he did a lot of camps. He took a passing tournament trip down to BYU."

In the end Torry signed with UNLV. His father thinks one big reason was that it was closer to home.

With such a big change late in the recruiting game, going to a junior college for a year might have made sense. Then Torry could have allowed some bigger schools a whole year to find a scholarship for him. Tim came to BYU from a junior college and ended up in the NFL. Was going the JC route considered by Torry?

"He is way more talented than I was," Tim noted. "If we were the same age, at the same age, then I couldn't touch this kid. ... It didn't make sense to go JC when you have three offers out there."

The only problem with UNLV is that the Rebels are scheduled to face BYU when Torry is expected to be a sophomore and junior (2014 and 2015). How will Tim handle this conflict of interest? Who will he cheer for?

"I'm going to cheer for both," Tim said, "but I am going to be rooting for my son. It is only right. I just want to see a good game. That will be exciting. That will be almost the same as him attending BYU for him to play against my school."

No conversation with Tim McTyer would be complete without bringing up the 1996 Cougars who finished 14-1, ranked no. 5 in the nation, and Cotton Bowl Champions.

BLUE COUGAR FOOTBALL had one simple question about that team: What made it so special? Strong friendships and talented players was McTyer's response.

"In 1995 when we got there we had some pieces," McTyer remembered. "We all hung out together whether it was in the locker room, whether it was going over to each other's houses, and we jelled that '95 year. And going into that next year, most of us stayed that summer, we didn't go home or anything.

"We had the key components that a football team needed. That '96 year James Dye was no. 1 or 2 [nationally] in punt returns. We had the [WAC] freshman player of the year Ronney Jeknins. We had the [WAC] offensive and defensive players of the year (Steve Sarkisian, Shay Muirbrook). We had two All-American tight ends (Chad Lewis, Itula Mili). We had myself and Omarr [Morgan]; we made All-WAC as a tandem.

"We scored on special teams, we scored on defense, we scored on offense, and we held guys. That was part of what we did. We had a lot of turnovers as well that gave a potent offense the ball back. We respected each other. We played as a team. Everybody was held accountable."

That 1996 football team was much more than just a group of guys taking the field together, and McTyer has lived his life as much more than a football player. 

The complete interview with Tim McTyer can be heard by clicking in the box below.



The Editor appreciates all feedback. He can be reached via email at bluecougarfootball@gmail.com

Comments

  1. Wow.. Great interview. It's a shame his son wasn't able to come to BYU. He would have been a star like his dad.

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