Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Irish land top all-purpose back in 2020 class

Notre Dame football is absolutely killing the recruiting trail in the class of 2020. The momentum that they’ve created continued on Thursday afternoon.

On Thursday afternoon, Notre Dame football landed elite 2020 running back out of Virginia, Chris Tyree. Perhaps Notre Dame’s highest priority on offense, Tyree picked Notre Dame over Oklahoma and Alabama who rounded out his top three. The last time Tyree was on campus was in March to get around the players and coaches more. He’s been to campus multiple times and he’s planning to take his official visit during a big recruiting weekend at the end of June.

Tyree knows what Notre Dame can do for him both on the field and off and I think in the end that’s what truly separated the Irish from the others, along with his great relationships with the staff. There’s no one better in the country that gives you a top notch education and a football powerhouse on a consistent level, and because of that, the Irish landed one of the most electric players in the country. At the moment, Tyree holds 30 offers from the likes of Penn State, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State and many others.

What will Tyree bring to South Bend?

The 5’9,” 180-pound all-purpose back is going to bring speed, speed, and more speed. At The Opening finals last year he was clocked running a 4.38 40-yard dash, which was the fastest among the group. He’s extremely productive almost every time he touches the ball. He’s able to accelerate to full speed very quickly and has a burst that you don’t see often.

It’s extremely hard to find one negative on how he plays the game, but if there was something you could possibly knock about his game it would have to be his ability to carry the work load as a 5’9″ running back. Even then, he runs tough and isn’t easy to bring down. He won’t shy away from contact, either. It’s a must to wrap him up with two hands if you want to bring him down and that’s really impressive in itself for someone at 5’9″ with exceptional speed.

Aside from that, he’s elite in all areas of his game. His vision to take it inside or outside is top notch. He also has great patience when running the ball. To top it all off, Tyree is very well-rounded as a pass-catcher coming out of the backfield and he’s almost impossible to bring down when he’s matched up in space on linebackers or anyone for that matter who’s facing him 1 on 1.

Don’t be surprised if he’s lining up at slot quite a bit, too. He’s a huge mismatch with his quickness and ability to make you miss and the staff will put him anywhere they can exploit the defense. All together, he’s a must-have elite running back who will now be suiting up in blue and gold.

With Tyree committing to the Irish, they now have 11 commitments: 7 on offense and 4 on defense. This is the first commitment for new running back coach Lance Taylor and he couldn’t be making a more positive impression on the Irish faithful than landing the No. 1 all-purpose back in the country.

Everyone should be thrilled with what Tyree will be bringing South Bend. I’d say the staff is off to a great start with addressing the need for speed, with what looks like the first half of the recruiting class filled up. To check out Tyree’s junior year highlights, click here.