Doing It All in Norman?

There can be no doubt to anyone who has watched Lincoln Riley's first few years of offense in Norman that he is both; willing to be creative and a guy that loves to have players with elite speed. But in Oklahoma's pursuit of Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale Rivals100 all-purpose back Chris Tyree you may be seeing the first time Oklahoma has sold a true collision of the two ideas.

That's because not only does Tyree bring some of the nation's fastest track times to the equation he also is seen as a potential jack of all trades by the Oklahoma offense. Interestingly it took Tyree's second trip to Norman for the plan to be laid out after an illness made things tough for Oklahoma's third-year head man on his first trip.

"The first time coach Riley was sick, so I talked to him for like two minutes and after that he went back home," Tyree recalled. "(We) talked about gadget plays, jet sweeps, me being in the slot, playing at the split also, me being a returner – all of that.

"I’ve always been an overall skill player anyway, my freshman year I started at wide receiver back and corner and didn’t play running back until later in the season."

And though he may not be always lined up in the backfield, it was also the idea of being part of Oklahoma's ever-talented backfield and how the Sooners have shown the ability to use multiple backs with great success that caught Tyree's eye.

"(This time) we definitely talked about being in a two-back system, coach (Jay) Boulware talked to us about when they had Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine and how successful they were," he explained.

Earlier this week Oklahoma's long-time Rivals100 running back commitment Jase McClellan tweeted out his desire for Tyree to join him in the Sooner backfield

Tyree says that came from the two, and their families spending most of their weekend together.

"The first time I didn’t really spend any time with recruits or the players, that was (another) thing that was different (on this trip)," he said. "Out of all the recruits I spent the most time with Jase and his mom (Mia). My mom, my dad, and me (and the McClellans) were pretty much together the whole time."

For any player considering going so far from home there is always mom who needs to be convinced. And while Tyree's mother admitted to her son that it would be hard to see him go so far away he sees it as something that everyone could get comfortable with.

"She talked about how she is going to have to get over me being far away from home all the time but I feel like as long as everyone is comfortable with the place and my parents loved it too so it was a good visit," he said.

With one official visit in the books, Tyree seems to be all but down to the Sooners, Notre Dame, and Alabama with the Irish already set to host him for his next official on June 21.

"Right now it’s just Oklahoma and Notre Dame, I don’t have any dates set for other schools," Tyree admitted.

"I don’t see the need for all five, I’m really focused right now on Alabama, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame right now. There’s really no point in me wasting the other two."

Understandably there is an attraction to Notre Dame's academics for Tyree and his family and the Sooners set up some time for them to talk with an Oklahoma professor to help him get a feel for Oklahoma's kinesiology program.

"They had me talk to one of the health and exercise science professors, and that’s helpful because I want to major in kinesiology. I want to be a coach but I’m interested in strength and conditioning as well," he said.

And with the academics being laid out in front of him - what other boxes did Oklahoma check off the list for Tyree?

"The team chemistry, the comfort between the players and the staff and the coaches, the campus, the vibe around campus, and I would say the last one is knowing how I’m going to be used in the offense," Tyree explained.

Finally, even with a summer visit set to South Bend, Ind. and plans of a trip to Tuscaloosa the clock seems to be ticking on Tyree's decision schedule.

"Coming back from the first visit they were still one of my favorite schools but it was good to get down there again."

And though his time was largely spent around McClellan and his family Tyree was impressed by the current Sooners, as much as a future one, and their ability to welcome recruits into their fold.

"Seeing that they were all comfortable around us, nobody was like ‘oh I have to take a recruit again’. It was a really comfortable situation," he said. "My host was Brayden Willis."