Tyson Ford Falls In Love With Notre Dame...Again

Tyson Ford‍ has been committed to Notre Dame since January, but the 2022 Missouri defensive end didn’t get a chance to see the school for himself until this week’s official visit.

“It was great,” Ford told Irish Sports Daily afterward. “The weather was great and I had a great experience.

“I walked into my hotel room and they had a bunch of snacks and stuff waiting for me, so that was great. The next day, we took the campus tour. I saw the main hall with all the Heisman trophies and awards from past alumni. I talked to the head of enrollment there, we had a good conversation.”

Ford, who arrived in town on Monday, said he also had “great” conversations with defensive line coach Mike Elston, defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and head coach Brian Kelly.

“Coach Elston was watching my film and comparing it to some of his players' film,” Ford explained. “He was teaching me some different moves, showing me what I do naturally and what I can hone in on when I get there and all of the stuff he could show me so I can develop into a great player.

“Coach Freeman, we were talking about different schemes. I told him I wanted to be a defensive coordinator one day, so he told me we'd have to sit down and talk sometime about different formations and different pass coverages and different things on defense.

“The one with Coach Kelly was great. He has high expectations for me. He even said there's no need for me to redshirt. Me coming in early, that's better than redshirting because I get to go in and develop before I even start playing. He expects big things out of me and he's ready for me to come in and help them win a national championship.”

The St. Louis native loved hearing that from Kelly.

“It was great,” he said. “It was motivating really. I know they're going to get me where I need to be and I know I'm going to come in and dominate when I get there.”

The John Burroughs School standout called campus “beautiful.”

“We saw the Golden Dome, I didn't realize the statue that was on top of there,” he said. “That was good to see. Seeing Touchdown Jesus, that was great. You can see it from the top of the press box. We actually were able to eat lunch in the press box, so that was great.”

The academic presentation also made an impression.

“The head of admissions was just talking to me about my grades and how I could come in and adapt,” said Ford. “He knows I come from John Burroughs and the people from my school are usually ready. He said he isn't expecting any problems out of me.

“They even told me about the different majors I could do. I told them I wanted to study Law, so he was just telling me the different courses I could take to fulfill that major.”

Ford made the trip with his mother, who also “loved it.”

“She loves it even more than before she went,” said Ford. “She was really impressed with the academic part. That's the big part. She also loved how the Stadium looked and the different buildings around campus and the different meanings to buildings. I think that really impressed her too. She loved it.”

And so did he.

“Obviously, I loved the school before. And I still love it, I love it even more now. Really, I'm just ready to get up there and get to work. That's what this trip did for me, letting me know how ready I am to come up and get started.”