Notre Dame Football

Notre Dame WR Chris Tyree Entering 2023 Refreshed

By Matt Freeman

August 14, 2023

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Refreshed.

It’s the word that describes Notre Dame receiver Chris Tyree as he enters his senior season.

The 5-foot-10, 192-pounder made the position switch from running back to receiver in the spring and Tyree has embraced all of the challenges thrown his way over the four months.

“I would say it’s like a breath of fresh air,” said Tyree. “I’m playing a new position. I have a new number. I’m practicing each day with a new coach and a whole new group. It’s been really exciting for me.”

Sure, Tyree will be the first to tell you it hasn’t been easy to learn a new position in year four, but it’s very evident he believes receiver is a fit and that’s allowed him to fall in love with the process.

“It feels really natural right now,” Tyree stated. “I think I've built a lot of confidence in my abilities. Coach (Chansi) Stuckey’s done a really good job with developing the whole room as a whole. I've learned a lot from people who have played receiver their whole lives. I'm starting to learn the position a little bit as I go, so I think I've built a lot of confidence in myself,”

During Notre Dame’s short summer break, Tyree didn’t take a break from learning the position as he went to Houston to train with Delfonte Diamond, who is one of the premier receiver coaches in the country.

Diamond has worked with CeeDee Lamb, Jaylen Waddle, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Deebo Samuel and Tank Dell to name a few.

It was a trip that signaled Tyree was on board with the position switch as he stepped outside his comfort zone as he was competing with much more advanced receivers. The emphasis for Tyree in Houston was footwork and releases, which is Diamond’s niche.

“I kind of got a different outlook on the receiver position being new to the transition and being new to the room. I got a good foundation learning from Coach Stuckey and the receivers in the room, but being able to travel to a new place and meet new people and work out with a whole new group. I think that was good for me. I’ve constantly been taking the information and learning from everyone.”

Tyree also caught over 20,000 balls this summer as he worked with Notre Dame’s quarterbacks, but also the newest toy in the football facility, the Monarc Sport. It might look like a jugs machine on the outside, but the technology allowed Tyree to be more productive in his expedited course.

“It’s been really efficient for me because I can catch a lot of balls at one time. If you compare it to a regular single jugs machine, you have to take a ball out, shoot it, catch it, put it back in and reload it. With the Monarc, I can catch like 30 balls in two minutes.

“Being able to get as many reps as I can in a short amount of time has been good for me.”

The ability to catch, run routes and block has been a transition for Tyree, but it’s also something that has come somewhat naturally for the former five-star athlete.

Stuckey has seen Tyree also grow mentally as he’s devoted time to learning pre-snap reads and adjusting his routes after the ball is snapped.

“Just understanding football,” Stuckey said of Tyree’s biggest growth since the switch. “He's so used to seeing everything out front, back there with the quarterback and now a lot of times his back's turned to the defense.

“Understanding what a nickel was trying to do a safety's trying to do, recognizing his own man, understanding the details of a split, what kind of route I'm running, what am I trying to sell? Also just understanding concepts and where it needs to be and being there on time has been the biggest thing.

Practice reps have expedited the learning process and the next step will be the learning curve on Saturdays.

“There'll be another jump once he starts playing games of understanding what people are trying to do to him,” stated Stuckey. “What's the scouting report on him and how can I break those things and get away with tendencies.”

Notre Dame’s receiver room is young and Tyree’s veteran presence is felt daily, but he’s also being kept on his toes as he’s surrounded by youthful energy.

“It’s been great,” said Tyree. “Me being able to come in as an older guy, even though it's a kind of weird relationship with the freshmen and then with me being there as well. They're trying to learn how the program works and things like that and I'm trying to learn the receiver position as a whole.

“We've gotten really close and I think that's done nothing but made our team stronger and made our bonds stronger.”