Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1507383
16 SEPT. 16, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE H aving gone through spring camp as a slot receiver, mostly with the second team, Notre Da m e s e n i o r C h r i s T y re e needed help. Tyree's transition from running back to receiver had been going relatively well, but he wasn't going to switch posi- tions just to be a backup. He reached out to Houston-based private wide receiv- ers and tight ends coach Delfonte Dia- mond, who told Blue & Gold Illustrated, via direct message on Instagram, that he has trained 300 to 400 NFL players in the past 14 years. Diamond brought Tyree down to Houston and got to work. "I don't train receivers; I don't train tight ends," Diamond said in August. "I create weapons." When Tyree arrived in what Diamond estimates was late June or early July, the specialist first noticed his speed. It was abnormal for a running back. Once he started working with Tyree, though, Diamond saw he was more than just an athlete. "It was actually a quick, fast transi- tion," Diamond said. "He understood the route concepts. He understood how to specifically set up a defender, knew how to begin to attack leverage. "Teaching him how to avoid the con- tact, not make the contact. It's a lot of SLOT MACHINE How Chris Tyree became 'programmed' to play slot receiver after his position change