Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 MARCH 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY MIKE SINGER Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale head coach Kevin Tucker first met Chris Tyree when the now Notre Dame signee was in middle school. Tyree was at Thomas Dale's feeder school, and Tucker watched him dominate at a young age. Not only was Tyree superb as a seventh- and eighth-grader on the football field, he impressed Tucker as just a 13-year-old young man. "He was beyond his years in terms of wisdom," Tucker said. During the summer heading into Tyree's freshman year at Thomas Dale, Tucker continued to be aston- ished by the young phenom. "Immediately, you could just see his athletic ability was phenomenal, but what you started to learn was his character." Tucker explained. "Al- ways 'Yes sir, no sir,' and doing what- ever you asked him to do." In his freshman season of high school, Tyree played running back and defensive back on the varsity team and became a leader right away. Tyree's leadership style wasn't very vocal at that point but he led by example — being first to line up in drills and staying focused on his tasks at hand. He broke his collarbone during his freshman campaign in 2016, but bounced back the following season. "He came back his sophomore year and had a tremendous season," Tucker continued. "He helped lead us to another nine-win season and put us in a situation to win in the playoffs. And he was always chal- lenging himself in practice." The scholarship offers for Tyree started pouring in as a sophomore. H e p i c k e d u p more than 20 of- fers from big-time p ro g r a m s f ro m across the country. " N e v e r o n c e did it change him where he thought he was better than anyone else," Tucker said. "He still came to our workouts and did every- thing that the team did. "He was just as happy when an- other kid got an offer as he was when he got an offer. It's always a team- first attitude with him." "He's a leader to the younger guys in the locker room," Tyree's father, Richard, said. "He's not the most vo- cal guy, but when he needs to, he'll speak up. The younger guys follow his example. So that's the kind of guy who Notre Dame is going to get. "I think if there's any way he can help out a teammate or student, Chris is one of those people who will go out of his way to help." Even a coach who had to spend countless hours trying to game plan against Tyree during his four-year high school ca- reer raves about him more off the field than about his talents on it. "Chris Tyree the person is an un- believable kid," Hopewell (Va.) High head coach Ricky Irby said. "He has a great family. As a person, I've been very impressed with him the past few years as we've played him and when I get to know him at camps and things like that. He's just a great kid and an unbelievable football player. "He's just a very humble person. You can tell he puts a lot of time and effort into being the best he can be. You appreciate kids like that. Even as an opposing coach, it's refreshing to see that." Tyree is a Notre Dame type of kid in the truest sense. His recruitment came down to a final three of Ala- bama, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. He officially visited the Sooners in April 2019 and contemplated a com- mitment to Oklahoma. But Tyree picked the Fighting Irish a month later, and the academics at Notre Dame were a big selling point for him. "It's very important, and my mom is always on me about my grades," Tyree said. "That's how it's been since kindergarten. Academics is big in my family." Chris Tyree Brings Game-Changing Speed To Irish Backfield Tyree, a 5-9½, 179-pound all-purpose back, rushed for 3,930 yards and 21 total touchdowns during his high school career at Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM "He's always had elite speed. He's a game breaker whenever he touches the ball. He was one of those guys who can take over a game and really control it." CHESTER (VA.) THOMAS DALE HEAD COACH KEVIN TUCKER ON TYREE