Former Robert Morris recruiting coordinator and assistant coach Delbert Tyler recently became the Director of On-Campus Recruiting at Army West Point. Tyler, a Pittsburgh-area native and Gateway alum, discussed the transition to the new position with Pittsburgh Sports Now.
“Probably the biggest thing is that we recruit more in the masses, so we recruit a lot more numbers than at RMU, because we’re bringing in a bigger class, because military has a little more flexibility with bringing in a lot more guys, because we also recruit for the prep school, too,” Tyler said. “So that is definitely a transition.”
Tyler also acknowledged the rich history at Army West Point.
“The history of the school is a little different, too. Everybody knows or have heard some of the history of West Point and Army and everything like that, so just trying to learn some of that history right how has been definitely a transition. RMU definitely has some revolutionary history and how it started and everything, but it is a little different at Army, just with the whole Revolutionary War, with George Washington and president and so many different leaders that went to Army. And a lot of them played football, too, so that is unique.”
Tyler said that while he isn’t a coach anymore, he is still building strong connections with his players on and off the field.
“Right now, I’m trying to meet a lot of guys on the team right now, so I’m able to still stay engaged and talk with the guys and be able to be with the guys on and off the field. It think the biggest thing about recruiting no matter where you are is all about relationships, and so, I feel like when you have a relationship with somebody or a player or anything like that, you’re able to ask certain questions. And that’s something that’s huge at Army, that were trying to find guys that fit the mold we’re trying to build. We’re trying to have the toughest team in America, so we’re trying to get players that love football, that are tough, and are smart too, so that’s one thing that all starts with building relationships. It doesn’t matter what school you’re at, building the relationships and asking those though questions to figure out if they fit at the school that you’re at and what you’re trying to build.”
Tyler, who player linebacker at Hampton from 2010-13, was a defensive line coach at the University of Findlay as well as an assistant linebackers coach at ASA College of Miami in 2016. In 2017, he was a graduate assistant defensive line coach at Eastern Michigan, and joined the Colonials as an assistant defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. He remained the recruiting coordinator and switched to assistant linebackers coach in 2019.
