Ex-NFL running back Tyrone Wheatley is returning to his home state of Michigan as head football coach at Division II Wayne State.”I am beyond excited to welcome Coach Wheatley and his family to the Wayne State community,” interim athletic director Erika Wallace said in a news release on Thursday. “Coach Wheatley has a passion for developing the student-athlete not only on the field, but off. His ability to mentor men, develop talent, and recruit will elevate our football program.”Wheatley, 51, played his high school football at Dearborn Heights Robichaud High School before playing at Michigan. He earned three straight all-Big Ten honors (1992-94), and the Giants selected Wheatley with the No. 17 overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft. He spent four seasons with New York, followed by six with the then-Oakland Raiders.He began his coaching career at his high school alma mater in 2007. He advanced through the coaching ranks, working as running backs coach at Syracuse and Michigan, as well as with the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars before becoming head coach at FCS-level Morgan State in 2019.He compiled a 5-18 record over two seasons and left the job in 2022 to coach running backs for the Denver Broncos.