Arizona Interview: Wisconsin 4-Star OL Kayden Lyles Announces Transfer from Saguaro

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

There have been a couple of consistencies in football on both the high school and college level. One recently has been a Lyles tearing it up for Saguaro High School and the other is a Lyles heading to Wisconsin. Well one of the two is about to change.

The Wisconsin link for the Lyles dates back to the mid-1990’s when Kevin was a Badger. Now Kevin’s son Karé Lyles is forever linked to Wisconsin as a member of the 2016 recruiting class. The next in line to head to Madison is Class of 2017 offensive lineman Kayden Lyles. Kayden committed to the Badgers on Oct. 1, 2015 joining the family legacy in Madison.

On the high school level, the Lyles have been an important piece to the Arizona gridiron when Karé started getting his feet wet with the Sabercats in 2013 as a backup quarterback to Luke Rubenzer on a 13-1 state championship winning team. In 2014, the stacked Sabercats once again ruled the land going 14-0 now with Karé as the starter passing for 3,420 yards with 40 touchdowns completing 71 percent of his passes while only throwing five interceptions in 263 attempts. The senior offensive weapon who took college football by storm in 2015 was Christian Kirk. Before Kirk tore it up for Texas A&M, he had 1,692 yards rushing with 25 touchdowns and caught 61 passes for 1,187 yards with 17 additional touchdowns as a senior with Saguaro. That same year, little brother Kayden took the field as a sophomore in the beginnings of cementing his own legacy in Scottsdale.

The 2015 season was another successful run for the Sabercats through the playoffs posting a 12-2 mark topping Marcos de Niza 38-20 for another state championship. Karé was once again prolific passing for 3,561 yards with 43 touchdowns against six picks again completing over 70 percent of his passes. Byron Murphy (Washington) emerged as a “can’t miss” wide receiver target pulling in 88 passes for 1,733 yards with 21 touchdowns as did Julian Carter (Boise State) but another big time prospect was ruling the trenches – Kayden.

Kayden had grown into a road grading 6’3”, 300 pound, interior lineman helping keep the opposition from getting to his brother in the pocket while opening up holes for running backs to help move the chains in the ground attack. Kayden has picked up at least 17 reported Division-I offers thanks to his play on the field from some of the top programs in the nation which includes Arizona, Arizona State, Louisville, Cal, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, UCLA, Utah, Washington, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Michigan, and Michigan State.

Saguaro is set to have another talented team in 2017 with recruits like DB K.J. Jarrell, TE Jared Poplawski, OL Corey Stephens, and LB Brandt Casey, among others, but one returning top player will not be there, Kayden Lyles.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, a sat down with the 4-star recruit to get his thoughts on Wisconsin, find out which teams are still pursuing him on the recruiting trail, and received the breaking news that all the rumors about him possibly transferring schools is true.

Interview

Kayden, I know you and your family are on a little getaway this weekend so thanks for taking time to do the interview today.

“No worries.”

There are a lot of big changes to the Sabercats next season, especially with Karé not being the leader in the huddle after the last two seasons. Will that be difficult for you to be in the huddle and not have your older brother calling the plays?

“Yeah, it will be different not having him call the plays. I’ve been playing with him since third grade.”

You guys also lost Byron Murphy to Washington, who will be the next big go-to playmaker for Saguaro next year?

“I don’t know. I might be transferring. I’m still deciding where I might go.”

Is this widely known in Arizona and within your school that you might be transferring?

“There have been rumors about it but I have not officially come out and announced it yet.”

But you are okay with me sharing this information within the construct of our interview?

“Yes.”

Well, no matter where you may play next year, once you are on the field what are your strengths as an offensive lineman?

“I’m hearing from my coaches that I’m fast, athletic, and I get off the line well. If they need me to make plays in the open field I can like on a screen or moving up to the next level to get a linebacker.”

Which facet of the game are you better at right now, run blocking or pass blocking?

“I like pass blocking better. I’ve been working with my new O-line coach, he has helped me a lot with that. I do run blocking well too.”

What are you doing in your offseason workouts to increase your speed and strength?

“I’m working out with my dad. Everything he used to do to get ready for football, I’m doing. We’re doing bench, squat, power cleans, Olympic lifts, and working on stabilizing muscles, all those types of things.”

What are your goals for your offseason workouts?

“I’d say my main goals are to get stronger in the three main lifts – bench, squat, and power cleans and to get faster. Now that I started working with my O-line coach, I’m working more on my technique, staying low and my footwork.”

The family ties to Wisconsin are strong, but that does not mean being a Badger was necessarily for you, but as it turns out it was. What drew you to commit to Wisconsin?

“Growing up in Wisconsin, we were always around the school. Now, seeing the facility and how it has progressed along with all the new things were big to me. But the main part is the coaching staff. Coach (Joe) Rudolph (offensive coordinator/offensive line coach) is an awesome guy. I think Coach Rudolph presents the best opportunity for me to go to the next level with him as my coach. Coach (Paul) Chryst is an awesome guy too. I can perfect my craft with him as my head coach. I’m partial having lived there but I love all the little things about the school too.”

Are schools still recruiting you hard trying to flip you or as a “just in case” kind of deal?

“Yeah, on National Signing Day Coach (Bob) Stoops (head coach) from Oklahoma reached out and said he is still very interested in me. Notre Dame is showing a lot of interest too. I get a lot of letters from schools too. I’m still 100 percent committed to Wisconsin but you never know what will happen so it is good to have a backup plan just in case.”

Indeed it is. I always like to find out how everything is going in the classroom. Do you have a GPA you don’t mind sharing?

“I have a 4.0. I always take academics serious. My mom went to Wisconsin on full-ride academic scholarship. I take school as a challenge just like football. Every day in the classroom represents a challenge for me.”

A lot of Class of 2017 recruits are starting to take their ACT and SAT exams. Have you taken yours yet or are you taking them coming up in March?

“I took the ACT my sophomore year. I got a good qualifying score but it was not high enough for me. I want to take it again because I know I can do better.”

Have you started thinking about what you want to major in once at Wisconsin?

“That’s a tough question to answer. Originally I wanted to do something in business or sports management, but right now I’m in a government and law studies class. Now I’m really interest in the law and the government. I’m not too sure what I will major in yet. I’m going to talk to my parents and see how it all works out. I’ve been really interested in government and law lately.”

I’m sure you’re not going to any college camps this summer but are you going to any exposure camps?

“Yes, I’m going to the Nike regional for sure so I can try to make The Opening. I don’t know about the Rivals camp yet, but Nike is for sure and that is on the books.”

Which Nike regional are you going to?

“The one in Oakland.”

Kayden, again, thanks for your time today and good luck with finding a new school. I hope all of that works out well for you.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: azcentral.com; Kayden (middle) with Karé (left) and Byron Murphy (right).

Photo credit: Lyles family; Kayden and Karé with Wisconsin staff.

Photo credit: Lyles family; the Lyles family at Wisconsin.