'Oh, man, he's ready': Wayne State welcomes home Tyrone Wheatley

Detroit — He was more talented than pretty much everyone else, because he outworked pretty much everyone else.

But Tyrone Wheatley had another trait that stood out even more to Fred Jackson, running-backs coach for Wheatley's final — and best — three seasons at Michigan. It was his curiosity. No matter what Jackson would say, Wheatley always wanted to know why. Not in a confrontational kind of why, mind you. He simply wanted to learn.

"When I put him in a certain footwork to a certain play, he wanted to know why it had to be that way, and I would have to explain it to him," Jackson said.

"That made me feel great about him, because I knew he was into what I was doing.

"His knowledge of the game…