Notre Dame set its sights on a top back in the 2020 class, and the Fighting Irish landed the player at the very top of their board after landing a commitment from Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale star Chris Tyree.
Tyree announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish at his high school on Thursday afternoon, giving Notre Dame not only its top running back target on the board, but arguably its No. 1 overall prospect. Tyree picked Notre Dame over finalists Alabama and Oklahoma.
The Rivals100 prospect is ranked as the No. 60 overall recruit in the country and the No. 1 all-purpose back in the 2020 class. He is ranked No. 22 nationally by ESPN.
Tyree also earned offers from Georgia, Ohio State, Florida, LSU, Penn State, Stanford, Michigan, Florida State, Tennessee, Miami (Fla.) and many others.
Tyree is Notre Dame's 11th public commitment in the 2020 class and the sixth on offense. He is the fourth Rivals100 recruit to commit to the Irish in the class, joining wide receiver Jordan Johnson (No. 59), offensive tackle Tosh Baker (No. 51), quarterback Drew Pyne (No. 72). Notre Dame also has commitments from tight ends Michael Mayer (No. 126) and Kevin Bauman (No. 111).
The hiring of Lance Taylor to coach running backs was key to Notre Dame ultimately beating out the Sooners and Crimson Tide for his services.
“He’s a really great guy," Tyree said of Taylor. "There’s nothing bad to say about him. It makes me feel comfortable that he’s coached running backs like me in Christian McCaffrey and Bryce Love. That’s good to see."
The Fighting Irish offered Tyree a scholarship in the spring of 2018. Tyree had a high view of what Notre Dame could offer him from the get-go.
“Notre Dame is well known for its academics and there may not be another football program with a greater history,” Tyree said. “The combination of both really stick out for me.”
Notre Dame will look to add one of its top defensive targets on the board on Friday as Purt Huron (Mich.) Northern defensive end Braiden McGregor announces at 7 p.m.
RELATED: Chris Tyree Film Room Analysis
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_CoachD, @Rivals_Singer, @EJHollandBGI and @BGI_DMcKinney
• Like us on Facebook.
