Irish Finalist for FB Tyler Gaffney
The fullback position has not been much of a threat in the Notre Dame running game since Raeshon Powers-Neal was suspsended after the Purdue game in 2005, but that might be changing in the near future. FB prospect Tyler Gaffney has Notre Dame among his finalists according to ESPN’s Greg Biggins.
“I’m basically down to three schools,” Gaffney said. “USC, Stanford and Notre Dame are my favorites and they’re all recruiting me differently.
“USC likes me as a running back or fullback, Notre Dame is purely at fullback and Stanford is purely at tailback.
Gaffney is a big back who could give the Irish offense a legitmate running threat from the fullback position. This past week he ran for168 yards and two touchdowns on just 12 carries for his Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, CA) team in their 42-14 win over Otay Ranch of Chula Vista.
Gaffney will be visiting Notre Dame for the Syracuse game. Having a California kid visit South Bend in late November isn’t always an ideal situation, but then again when Kory Minor visited Notre Dame over a decade ago he was greeted with a snow storm.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
The Fighting Irish should have recruited Tyler as what he is, a tailback. But, because the color of his skin they put him in the light of being a “fullback”. They made the same mistake with Mike McNair, he was one of the best h.s. tailbacks I ever saw play. But, because of his skin color, they moved him to fullback and ruined his career.
Tyler made a wise decision picking Stanford. I cant wait to see him taking over Toby Gierharts spot next year.