He broke Michigan's then career rushing record with 3,317 yards, was the Big Ten Most Valuable Player, and was selected as a consensus first-team All-American in 1976.

Born and raised in Fremont, Ohio, where his family had operated a clothing store for several generations,[1] Lytle graduated from its Ross High School in 1973.

[11] Lytle was involved in two games in which Michigan had three rushers accumulate 100 yards,[12] and he was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.

[15][16][17] An autopsy of his brain revealed “moderate to severe” symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

[18][19] He is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.