The University of Southern California’s star-studded group of signees from the high school graduating class of 2026 includes a Tyner senior who needed less than a full season to become one of the Chattanooga area’s top prep football players.
Peyton “Man Man” Dyer, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound defensive back who is rated as a four-star prospect, helped lead the Rams on a run to the TSSAA Class 3A state semifinals this fall after being ruled eligible to play in the third week of the season. The delay was due to Dyer transferring in the offseason from Duluth, a GHSA Class AAAAAA program in the Atlanta area, where he was an all-state first-team selection by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a junior in 2024.
In a dozen games for Region 3-3A champion Tyner this year, Dyer made his presence known as he had more than 100 total tackles — including 22 for loss and four sacks — three forced fumbles, an interception and five total touchdowns. The Rams concluded a 12-2 season with last week’s 23-20 loss at Gatlinburg-Pittman, and Dyer will soon graduate from Tyner in order to enroll early at USC and get a head start on his college football career with the Big Ten’s Trojans in Los Angeles.
He joins a program that had the top-ranked class for the current recruiting cycle as of Wednesday — the start of the three-day early signing period — according to 247Sports.com’s composite rankings. Dyer, who signed to follow through on the commitment he made June 8, is excited to follow in the footsteps of two of college football’s all-time great defensive backs who starred for the Trojans and have a combined 18 NFL Pro Bowl selections and six Super Bowl championships.
“Ronnie Lott and Troy Polamalu are my favorite USC players of all time,” said the 17-year-old Dyer, who also met legendary Michigan defensive back Charles Woodson on a recent official visit to attend USC’s home victory against Michigan. “I am excited and ready to work on the field and academically as well. I am hardworking, coachable, passionate and disciplined. I am always looking for ways to improve.”
Dyer excels in press-man coverage with his imposing ability at the line of scrimmage. He is also a capable run stopper who gets downhill quickly. Lincoln Riley, whose bowl-bound Trojans are 9-3 in his fifth season as the program’s head coach, has built a deep recruiting class that as of Wednesday included 35 players, with one five-star recruit, 21 four-stars, and 13 three-stars.
Dyer chose USC over Southeastern Conference power Georgia and will be able to help his mother return back to her Golden State roots after growing up in Sacramento.
“My mother inspires me to be great,” said Dyer, whose YouTube channel has more than 12,000 views on his last vlog. “Nothing comes easy in life. You are going to have to work for what you want. My teammates and coaches at Tyner motivated me, picked me up and helped me grow.’
Dyer’s defensive highlights with the Rams included an interception he returned 96 yards for a touchdown, and he also had an 82-yard punt return for a score after making six would-be tacklers miss along the way.
He was regarded as Metro Atlanta’s best defensive back before the season and was ranked as high as the No. 24 cornerback recruit in the country this fall. As a Duluth junior, he had 70 tackles, 12 pass breakups, two forced fumble, and an interception in nine games for the Wildcats.
Tyner’s fall semester is approaching the finish line, and so is Dyer’s time as a high school student-athlete, but heading to the West Coast early will allow him to take part in spring practices with the Trojans and get ready to help them as soon as possible.
“My dreams are to break records at USC and have a similar impact to how Charles Woodson had as a Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback,” Dyer said. “I want to meet some big names who can help me in the long term as well. I want to own my own business one day or be a veterinarian. I am looking forward to being a part of the real USC.”
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.
TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Here are the Chattanooga-area prep football players from the graduating class of 2026 who had signed with a college program as of Wednesday, the start of the NCAA’s three-day early signing period. Players are listed alphabetically by last name, with height and weight in parentheses, followed by high school, projected position and college choice.
— Jayden Arenas-Michel (6-4, 280), Baylor, DL, MTSU.
— Kolby Barrett (6-2, 190), Baylor, DB, Mississippi State.
— Daniel Cepicky (6-6, 312), McCallie, OL, Kennesaw State.
— Briggs Cherry (6-4, 215), Baylor, QB, Louisville.
— Jake Collett (6-0, 175), Heritage, K, Texas.
— Peyton Dyer (6-1, 190), Tyner, DB, USC.
— Charlie Edgeworth (6-7, 325), Baylor, OL, Louisville.
— Roman Eulo (6-3, 195), Walker Valley, WR, Austin Peay.
— Camden Goforth (6-4, 310), McMinn County, OL, West Virginia.
— J.R. Hardrick (6-6, 235), South Pittsburg, DL, Clemson.
— Jaden Haywood (6-0, 170), East Hamilton, RB-DB, ETSU.
— Gabriel Osenda (6-8, 230), Baylor, OL, Tennessee.
— Sager Quinn (6-2, 190), Calhoun, DL, South Florida.
— Keeyshawn Tabuteau (6-0, 180), McCallie, WR, Wisconsin.
— Jamyan Theodore (6-0, 170), Baylor, DB, Tennessee.
— A.J. Westfield (6-3, 280), Bradley Central, DL, Tulane.