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Hey Horka: Why a temporary position switch could make sense for Chris Tyree

It has been a tough season for Chris Tyree.

When Notre Dame’s offensive line struggled in the first half of the season, the sophomore running back struggled too. He had 35 carries for 112 yards (3.2 yards per carry) in Notre Dame's first six games. He only scored a rushing touchdown in the season-opener at Florida State.

Then Tyree went down with a turf toe injury at Virginia Tech Oct. 9. He's been battling to get fully healthy ever since. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said he is finally just about there. He is returning to full strength at an interesting time, too. I’ll explain why in this week’s Hey Horka message board mailbag column.

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Hey Horka: What do you think about moving Chris Tyree to the slot? — Hond

Graduate student wide receiver Avery Davis is out for the season. Freshman Logan Diggs has made his case to be the team’s No. 2 running back behind junior Kyren Williams while Tyree has been sidelined due to his ailing foot.

Diggs has run 28 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns in the last four games. He didn't get his first carry of the season until Tyree left the Virginia Tech game. He's in a good groove as Williams' sidekick with 101 of those yards coming in the last two games.

It wouldn’t be wise for offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to shake things up again and transition Tyree back into the backup role. But it would be wise to get Tyree on the field. He's too talented not to.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football sophomore running back Chris Tyree
Notre Dame running back Chris Tyree could be in line to take more reps in the slot. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

Freshman wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. is the most logical replacement for Davis. Styles is listed as the new starter in the slot on Notre Dame's depth chart. Walk-on Matt Salerno is listed as the backup.

Davis has played the most snaps of any Notre Dame wide receiver this season. Styles is up and coming and a potential superstar in the making. But is he reliable enough right now for that kind of workload? And if not, is Salerno ever going to be ready to play meaningful snaps? Maybe, maybe not. But Tyree is.

Tyree has 16 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown this season. Sure, it's different catching the ball out of the backfield than out of the slot. But Tyree has lined up in the slot 14 times this season anyway according to Pro Football Focus. He has also been split out wide four times.

Tyree is the type of player who can adjust to different positions. He's got the body type for it at 5-9½, 190 pounds. He has got the speed for it, too. He might be Notre Dame’s fastest player on either side of the ball.

Diggs hasn't done anything to warrant returning to No. 3 on the totem pole. But if Tyree is healthy again, he's got to find his way into the game plan somehow too. The best way for that to happen might be sharing the spotlight in the slot with Styles.

This shouldn't be a permanent thing, though. Tyree's natural position is running back. When Williams likely turns his attention to the 2022 NFL Draft, Tyree will have a chance to earn RB No. 1 status next offseason. A one-two punch of Tyree and Diggs is looking more and more like what will be in store for next year’s Notre Dame ground game.

It'd be something to see Tyree rewarded for enduring such a frustrating season too. Tyree hasn't shut it down after the struggles early on to the turf toe injury. He only played nine snaps against Navy. Eight of them were passing plays. What he did on one of them showed Kelly that Tyree is still fully engaged and willing to compete in any capacity.

Tyree picked up a Navy blitz and leveled the blitzer. Flat out put him on his back with a punishing block. Sure, Notre Dame would miss that part of Tyree's game if he doesn't line up in the backfield much the rest of the season. But Williams isn't afraid to stick his nose in there either.

Imagine this: Williams protects the quarterback with a block of his own and the ball gets out to Tyree down field as a result. Notre Dame fans had visions of that all offseason. Now might be the best time for the Fighting Irish to make those dreams a reality.

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