Bryan Driskell, publisher of Sports Illustrated’s Irish Breakdown site and football analyst for Blue and Gold Illustrated, has written a lot about Notre Dame since 2014. He also coached college football for a decade. The man knows talent when he sees it, and he thinks he’s found it with one of the Irish’s newest players.
Driskell has written about incoming Notre Dame freshman running back Chris Tyree. For a long time, the Irish have lacked someone in the backfield with game-changing speed, and Driskell thinks they’ve found that player in Tyree. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who’s kept up with Notre Dame’s recruiting for the Class of 2024.
Though Driskell doesn’t anticipate that Tyree will start or even get the majority of carries right away, he advocates for Tyree to not only play this fall, but get seven to 10 touches in each game. He figures it’s the best way for Tyree to foster his game, even as he’s coming off an injury-plagued senior season in high school.
The idea of a Notre Dame running back being automatic seems ludicrous to longtime fans. That Tyree might be the one to change that generates excitement. The pressure is on the coaching staff to develop this kid the right way. Whether they actually do it will be a burning question for some time.