2022 Notre Dame DE Target Tyson Ford Excited To Finally Play

After months of practicing against each other, Tyson Ford‍ and his John Burroughs teammates are fired up for their first opportunity to compete against somebody else this weekend, when they open up their season against Priory on Saturday.

“It’s exciting,” said Ford. “Just anxious to get back out there and play because we’ve just been practicing against each other. It always feels good to get some action against some other teams.”

While the COVID-19 crisis pushed the season back more than a month, the 2022 St. Louis defensive end and his teammates have been practicing since June.

“We’ve been doing a lot against each other for a long time, so it’s going to feel good to finally play some other people,” said Ford.

The team’s goals are relatively simple, win as many games as possible, win a district title and make a postseason run.

Ford has had to change his statistical goals with a shortened season, but his overall goals are the same.

“Contribute as much to my team as I possibly can and make sure I dominate every game and make sure my presence is felt,” he said.

After an extended offseason, Ford feels he’s prepared to do so.

“I think I’ve gotten a lot better at my technique and my hands,” he said. “Last year, I wasn’t really that fluid with my hands or my technique. I have a way higher skillset than I did last year, plus I upped my speed and gained over 30 pounds in the offseason.”

Up to 6-6 and 250 pounds, Ford expects to receive a lot of attention this fall.

“I’m definitely going to see a lot of double-teams and a lot of people making sure their backs are in the backfield for another level of protection if I get back there,” he said. “But I don’t really expect any of that to really affect how I produce on the field because I’m confident in how well I trained in the offseason.”

Earlier in the week, Ford declared Notre Dame as his leader to Irish Sports Daily.

He’s also been talking with a “few schools” consistently.

“I’ve just been waiting everything out until I can go visit the schools I want to,” he said.

In addition to Notre Dame, Ford has serious interest in Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa State, Missouri and Texas A&M.