Chris Tyree Heads Into His Senior Season Looking To Make An Impact At Receiver

Notre Dame’s spring experiment is over. Chris Tyree had a “slash” to designate his position during spring practice. As in “RB/WR”. His position was always “RB” in his first three seasons, but it became necessary this offseason as new offensive coordinator Gerad Parker and receivers coach Chansi Stuckey began the experiment to see if Tyree could make the move out of the backfield to slot receiver.

The slash is now gone, and Tyree’s position simply reads “WR” as he and the Fighting Irish prepare for their Aug. 26 season opener against Navy. That’s just fine with the senior.

“I'm really excited for it,” Tyree recently said of the pending debut at his new position. “That's what I work towards, especially with me changing the position. I'm not going to switch positions just to be the backup. I'm going to try to compete to the best of my ability no matter where I'm at, so that's where I'm at right now.”

Tyree always had the skill and ability to play receiver. He had 56 receptions for 481 yards in his first three seasons as an Irish running back. He’s lined up in the slot plenty of times, but there is still a big difference in doing it part time and being a full-time receiver.

“He's so used to seeing everything out front,” Stuckey said of Tyree’s transition to receiver. “Back there with the quarterback and now a lot of times his back's turned to the defense. Understanding what a nickel was trying to do a safety's trying to do, recognizing his own man, understanding the details of a split, what kind of route I'm running, what am I trying to sell? Also just understanding concepts and where it needs to be and being there on time has been the biggest thing and there'll be another jump once he starts playing games of understanding what people are trying to do to him and what's the scouting report on him and how can I break those things and get away with tendencies.”

The spring was a good starting point for Tyree. He showed an ability to get open, but didn’t always see the ball into his hands. He spent the summer catching nearly 20,000 balls off a new automated practice machine at Notre Dame and he also worked with private receivers coach Delfonte Diamond in Houston. Working on some basics like foot placement and releases, but it’s his work with Stuckey that has pushed him to where he is as he prepares for his senior season.

“It feels really natural right now,” Tyree explained. “I think I've built a lot of confidence in my abilities. Coach Stuckey’s done a really good job with developing the whole room as a whole, but just me putting in the extra time with my coaches, with my teammates. I've learned a lot from people that have played receiver their whole lives. I'm starting to learn the position a little bit as I go, so I think I've built a lot of confidence in myself and it feels really natural right now.”

“It feels so much better,” Tyree continued. “I can go out, play free, play fast, play confident. That’s what Coach Stuckey and Coach Parker wanted me to do, and that's what I've been trying to do every day. And I think I’ve done a good job with that.”

Tyree is still working on finer points, like pre-snap reads of the defense and getting in and out of his breaks properly. He is likely to look completely different in game 12 on Nov. 25 than he does in game one on Aug. 26.

“It's just getting him comfortable getting some games under his belt so he understands what it feels like, hit, contested catches, what guys are going to try to do,” Stuckey explained. “It's just going to come with time. We have this conversation in a couple of months, I think we're going to really be pleased with where he is.”