Tyler attended Rich Central High School in Matteson, Illinois. Over his career, he had over 2,000 rushing yards and over 50 touchdowns. He was also a very successful track sprinter. He committed to play football at Western Michigan.
Tyler spent his first two seasons with Western Michigan as an effective second option in the run game, rushing 108 times for 653 yards and 7 touchdowns in these two seasons.
Tyler was given the starting role in his third and fourth seasons, rushing for over 1,000 yards in both seasons while scoring 16 touchdowns.
Tyler then entered the transfer portal and chose to attend Minnesota. In 2023 for Minnesota, Tyler played in 11 games, starting in just 3 of them. In his limited snaps, he rushed 61 times for 242 yards.