Trainer | Notre Dame Getting A Good One In 2022 DE Tyson Ford

In just a few words, Notre Dame is getting a good one in 2022 Missouri defensive end Tyson Ford‍, who announced his commitment to the Irish on Monday.

Matt Biermann, owner of Elite Football Academy where Ford trains, has more than a few words to explain.

“Coming from John Burroughs, that kid's a top-notch student-athlete,” says Biermann. “Their kids are serious about not just playing their respective sports, but he's a young man who's been in a pretty rigorous academic environment and shown to be a quality individual on and off the field. So, I think they're getting a really quality human being who happens to be able to play football at a really high level.”

Athletically, Biermann says the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder has an extremely high ceiling.

“Very athletic, room to grow,” says Biermann. “I think he does have some really good years ahead of him, where he's physically learning the game and I think he'll only get better as he's getting more development at the Division-I level.

“He'll get development work and then just learning the game at a higher level. He's intelligent, so he's going to be able to pick up any system that he's in.”

Biermann has seen that growth since Ford started working with Elite Football Academy.

“It's one of those things where he's become much more confident in his skillset,” says Biermann. “He's better with using his hands. Obviously, he's just a good pure athlete. So, learning to become more technical; handwork, footwork, and then just using those gains. You could see it this past season where he was really difficult for a lot of teams to handle, very difficult.”

It’s Elite Football Academy’s job to live up to its name.

“As guys start to prepare for college, there's a premium placed on getting as much skill and development work as possible so that they're ready to go when they get there,” says Biermann. “Something we've seen over the years is that players are really expected to be ready when they get to that level. You get guys on the field earlier and earlier.

“So, that's our whole model to help our players and people like Tyson get developed at a higher level so that they're not being shocked when they get there and they can learn the game, but their skillsets are really on par with where they need to be.”

And so far, Ford has proven to be up to that task.

“He's definitely a hard worker,” says Biermann. “I think there's a lot to be said for his character having that high-level high school experience in sports as well as academics.

“He's a disciplined young man who does plenty of work off field that's going to transfer. He's a guy who most definitely is not afraid to work.”