Vikings head coach reacts to Ty Chandler's impressive rookie debut
Former North Carolina Tar Heel star Ty Chandler got his first chance to shine in NFL action in Sunday’s preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders and he didn’t disappoint. He racked up over 100 all-purpose yards on just six touches in his impressive rookie debut. His most explosive play came when he returned a kickoff back 56 yards in the third quarter. Following the game, Vikings’ head coach Kevin O’Connell had nothing but great things to say about Chandler’s performance.
“Yeah, I just thought across the board, Ty, just, you know, he’s pretty decisive in the run game. Putting his foot down. Getting north and south. There was a couple bounce arounds there. And then, obviously, that kick return really got us going on that drive…But to be able to flip the field and activate a little momentum there….I thought it was big and Ty had a lot to do with that. He ran with the type of physicality that sometimes you don’t get to see in practice. You know it’s there. You know the vision’s there. So, he was a real bright spot for me tonight,” O’Connell said.
Here’s the kick return he had in Sunday’s game.
On his first rushing play in the game in the third quarter, he displayed excellent patience and balance between the tackles for a 14-yard gain. While he’s listed as the fourth string running back on Minnesota’s depth chart, life for a running back in the National Football League can be a remarkably fragile world and injuries happen all the time.
Dalvin Cook is clearly still one of the biggest stars on the team and behind him are Alexander Mattison and Kene Nwangwu. We’ll see if Chandler’s impressive performance can help him carve out a roster spot on the 53-man finalized roster in a few weeks, before the regular season starts.
Background on Ty Chandler’s football career
Chandler was selected No. 169 overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
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He was a former On3 Consensus four-star recruit coming out of the class of 2017. The dynamic tailback put together a successful collegiate career while playing four seasons at Tennessee and played his fifth year at North Carolina. Chandler also had a strong season for the Tar Heels in 2021, as he rushed for 1,092 yards and 13 touchdowns, while also hauling in a receiving touchdown.
A 6-foot, 210-pound running back, Chandler was ranked as the No. 7 running back in the country in the 2017 recruiting class coming out of Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville, Tennessee). He held scholarship offers from a number of top-tier programs – including Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan and USC – before choosing to begin his college career at Tennessee.
Looking at his stats from last season, Chandler rushed for 213 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Wake Forest on Nov. 6 and put up 198 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Virginia on Sept. 18.
Tyler Mansfield also contributed to this article.