Notre Dame’s Mike Elston Making Strong Impression On Top 2022 DE
St. Louis John Burroughs School’s Tyson Ford is one of the best defensive lineman in the 2022 class. The 6-6, 250-pounder has been steadily adding new offers, and his scholarship sheet will only grow from here on out.
“I’m at 14 offers right now,” Ford said. “I’m working out every day to stay busy. There’s a few coaches I talk to weekly, like Coach Mike Elston at Notre Dame and then I talk to Coach [Eli] Drinkwitz at Missouri. I haven’t had much contact with Michigan State lately, but I know they’re interested.”
Notre Dame offered Ford in April, and Ford has been calling Elston — the Fighting Irish’s defensive line coach — on a weekly basis since then. They speak just about every Tuesday evening.
“He’s a really cool guy,” Ford said. “He gets [defensive line assistant] Coach [Mike] O’Guin involved in the call, too. He really wants me to meet the whole staff that he works with. I can tell he really wants me to go to Notre Dame. I really like him.”
Ford was raised in the private school system, including Catholic schools, which would make a transition to Notre Dame much easier.
“[Elston] says that Notre Dame will be a great place for me,” Ford said. “He thinks I’d fit in there really well. With the football team, I can fit in there too because they want aggressive players who want to win.
“They like how I’m a dual threat — I can help with the pass and the run. There are not many weaknesses when it comes to my game. He thinks I can make a big impact to their defense.”
Ford has been doing research on Notre Dame in the past few months since receiving the offer.
“I looked at how many draft picks they’ve produced and they have the most all time, which is really intriguing to me,” he said.
Ford is good friends with St. Peters (Mo.) Lutheran of St. Charles and Notre Dame 2021 defensive tackle commit Gabriel Rubio. They’ve been communicating about the Fighting Irish.
“We talk all of the time,” Ford said. “We grew up together; we’re close. He’s making his pitch of me coming to Notre Dame. He knows I’d be a good fit there.”
The only school Ford has been able to visit is the in-state Missouri Tigers. This summer would’ve been a great time to see Notre Dame, but that of course won’t be able to happen due to the pandemic.
Ford is hopeful to get out on the road when visits open up and visit a handful of schools and make a decision after this fall.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @ToddBurlage and @AndrewMentock.
• Like us on Facebook.