| Class | Position | Height | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | QB | 6'1 | 215 lbs. |
| School | Composite Ranking | ||
| Saguaro (AZ) |
 No. 43 Pro-Style QB |
||
Karé Lyles will return to his Madison roots as a member of the Wisconsin Badgers 2016 recruiting class. One of the earliest players to commit to the Badgers when he gave his verbal on March 15, 2015, Lyles is already on campus as an early enrollee and will be able to participate in spring camp.
The Badger roots run deep in the Lyles family. His father Kevin played tight end for Wisconsin from 1993-1996 and his younger brother Kayden, the fourth-highest rated offensive guard in the 2017 class, is a verbal commit to the Badgers. Karé grew up in the Madison area until moving to Arizona before he began high school.
With the loss of starting quarterback Joel Stave to graduation and redshirt freshman D.J. Gillins transferring out of the program, Wisconsin is left with three quarterbacks in spring camp (including Lyles). The front-runners will be Bart Houston and Alex Hornibrook. In a phone interview in December, Lyles said that head coach Paul Chryst expects him to come in and compete for the open starting job.
Welcome Kare' Lyles (Scottsdale, Arizona) to the #Badgers football family! #NSD2016 https://t.co/vGcDuM9G9q pic.twitter.com/cPouEOHh0X
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) February 3, 2016
Highlights: New #Badgers QB Kare' Lyles #NSD2016 https://t.co/1TmjWcbCv0
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) February 3, 2016
Rankings
Rivals: No. 10 prospect in Arizona
ESPN: Grade: 77; No. 30 pro-style quarterback in the nation; No. 7 prospect in Arizona
247: Grade: 85; No. 43 pro-style quarterback in the nation; No. 12 prospect in Arizona
Scout: ; No. 59 overall quarterback prospect in nation; No. 1 QB in Arizona
Verbally committed March 15, 2015
Lyles committed to the Badgers early on in the recruiting process and never wavered in that decision. He says that he "shut down" his recruiting process after committing to play for Chryst and the Badgers, which is why he never drew another offer from any other schools.
Four years after the moving away from Madison, he made a return to Wisconsin on an unofficial visit in March. Seeing the city once again sealed the deal.
"Just the feeling of being home did it," he said. "I loved the Midwest and I loved being back. I just felt at home. Seeing Lake Mendota, walking down State Street again, it was great. I got to see everything and fell in love again."
Lyles was also heavily attracted to the coaching staff at Wisconsin, led by Chryst in his first year as head coach.
"I always knew that I wanted to go to Wisconsin," he said. "Getting to know Coach Chryst and the staff and that family atmosphere, it wasn't hard to make my choice."
Chryst's pedigree for developing quarterbacksâ--a group that includes current NFLers Scott Tolzien, Tom Savage and Russell Wilson--was also eye-catching.
"If you look at Coach Chryst's résumé, he really helps quarterbacks to play at the highest level they can," Lyles said. "If you look at Russell (Wilson) and (Scott) Tolzien and all the other guys he's coached, you can tell that he definitely knows how to work with quarterbacks."
Lyles was the second player from the 2016 class to commit to Wisconsin. The first was New London, North Carolina, running back Antonio Williams. Ranked as the ninth-best running back in the nation, Williams immediately took on the role as unofficial recruiter for the Badgers; however, in October, the former sworn Badger unexpectedly flipped on his decision and committed to Big Ten rival Ohio State.
Highlights
Stats
2014: 3,420 yards, 40 TD, 5 INT
2015: 70% comp., 3,561 yards, 43 TD, 6 INT