Florida 4-Star 2017 LB Tyler Dunning Updates Offseason and Recruiting

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

Everything for Class of 2017 linebacker Tyler Dunning seems to be growing. The growth on the list includes senior season expectations, recruiting interest, and even him. Dunning played his way into 4-star recruiting status for St. Thomas Aquinas during his junior year and all eyes have been turned to watch his progress and where he may play his college ball.

Dunning played his junior season at 6’0”, 220 pounds, racking up 46 tackles, second on team behind Drew White, with 11.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, four fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble in 14 games played. All stats can be skewed and the line for Dunning does not come close to giving insight on his season.

St. Thomas Aquinas posted a 13-1 mark in 2015 capturing another Florida state title with a 45-10 win over Viera High School. The team’s lone loss was a shocking 6-3 defeat to Deerfield Beach High School. For the season, the Raiders held their opposition to an average of 11.3 points per game. The offense was nearly unstoppable scoring an average of 35 points per game. What the stat line does not show is, early in the second half of most of the games Dunning and the first team unit was standing on the sidelines watching the second and third string teams gain playing time.

The one-time Miami verbal commit has added some size and girth to his ball hunting frame over the last couple of months. Dunning is now up to 6’1”, 230 pounds, and has double-digit offers from top programs around the country giving further credit to his play on the field. The list of teams includes Kentucky, LSU, Florida Atlantic, Colorado, Florida International, Pitt, South Carolina, Tennessee, Syracuse, Cincinnati, Alabama, and Arkansas.

Dunning recently narrowed his list of schools down to five giving LSU, Syracuse, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee a chance to land the Miami area talent. In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I caught up with Dunning covering his offseason workouts while receiving a recruiting news update.

Interview

Tyler, what are you working on in the offseason to prepare for your senior year?

“I’m working on getting faster, quicker, improving my agility, and getting stronger.”

Have you maxed out in bench, squat, or power clean in the offseason?

“No not yet. We are supposed to do that soon.”

If you had to guess where you are at right now what would be your best guess?

“I don’t know. I bench pressed 315 three times the other day and I did 315 on squat 10 times.”

Have you ran a 40-yard dash lately?

“At the Nike Opening regional I ran a 4.6.”

Wow. All that is impressive. Are you expanding your role with the team next year playing other positions?

“Yes. I’ll play some at defensive end to help out depth wise and I might be on some extra point or goal line packages at tight end and maybe at fullback.”

Are you excited about playing some at defensive end next year?

“Yeah, I’m excited.”

Are you going to any other camps this offseason besides the Nike camp you attended?

“No, no more camps for me. I’m playing 7×7 and stuff like that. It gets me running with wide receivers and stuff like that to work on my speed and cover skills.”

You listed out your Top 5 of LSU, Syracuse, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Is that Top 5 still the same?

“Yes.”

Are you making any unofficial visits to the teams in your Top 5 this offseason?

“I’m taking them after the spring. I may be able to visit three or four of the schools.”

Which schools are a possibility for you to visit?

“LSU, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky for sure. I’m still trying to work out visiting Syracuse.”

Are any of the teams in your Top 5 pushing harder than the rest?

“No. They are all pushing at the same pace.”

Are there any schools still pursuing you trying to crack your Top 5?

“Colorado, Florida, Auburn, Duke, and a few other schools are still in regular contact with me.”

Is Miami completely out of the picture for you going forward?

“I will most likely got to a SEC school.”

Do you have a timeframe for when you would like to announce your verbal commitment?

“After the spring – right after.”

Have you thought about how you might make your announcement?

“I don’t know. Maybe I will do it on ESPN or just announce it on Twitter.”

How is everything going in the classroom?

“Everything is fine in the classroom. We are supposed to get our report cards soon.”

Have you taken the ACT or SAT yet?

“I took the ACT on Saturday and I took the SAT in January and got over 1,200. I can’t remember if it was 1,240 or 1,250. Somewhere in there.”

That’s a great score (Top 25 percent).

“Thank you.”

Tyler, thanks for your time today and good luck on your ACT on Saturday.

“Thank you.”

Photo credit: 247sports.com; Tyler Dunning at a Nike camp.

Photo credit: scout.com; Tyler Dunning on the field.