Kyle Gares returns Western Illinois, one year removed from his Western Illinois playing career, to assist with the linebackers.
Gares played four years at defensive back with the Leathernecks, seeing most of his action as a redshirt freshman in 2003. He served as a student assistant during his senior season, 2006, while injuries kept him from the playing field.
Since earning a degree in kinesiology in 2007 from Western Illinois, Gares was a sports performance intern at Arizona State during the summer of 2007 and served the 2007-08 school year as a strength and conditioning graduate assistant at Northern Illinois.
The Kahoka, Mo., native was a first-team all-conference running back and return specialist, as well as a second-team defensive back and honorable mention punter at Clark County High School, and was a unanimous pick for first-team all-district running back honors. He was also an accomplished prep track athlete.
Gares is continuing toward his master’s degree in sports management while at Western Illinois.
Playing Career
2006 (Senior season): Did not appear in any games due to injury.
2005 (Junior season): Recorded seven tackles (5 solo), one tackle for loss and one pass defended... registered two tackles on three different occasions... saw action in four games, starting two at safety.
2004 (Sophomore season): Appeared in five games, starting once at free safety... registered 18 tackles, including 11 solo stops... notched one tackle for loss (-8 yards)... had three solo tackles on three different occasions... recorded his best game, with eight stops, against Missouri State.
2003 (Redshirt-Freshman season): Played in nine games, mostly on special teams... totaled seven tackles, including six solo stops.
High School
Was a first-team all-conference running back and return specialist, as well as a second-team defensive back and honorable mention punter... was a unanimous pick for first-team all-district running back honors... once recorded 460 total yards of offense in one game... earned four letters in track... qualified for state in three events (100-meter dash, 4x100-meter relay and 4x200-meter relay).. also earned two letters in basketball.
Personal
Son of Rodney and Mary Gares... born October 20, 1983... majoring in kinesiology.
TACKLES G UA A Total TFL-Yds PD FF FR Blkd
2003................ 9 6 1 7 0.0-0 0 0 0 0
2004................ 5 11 7 18 1.0-8 0 0 0 0
2005................ 4 5 2 7 0.5-1 1 0 0 0
TOTAL............... 18 22 10 32 1.5-9 1 0 0 0
