RB Tyrone Tracy Jr. knows he might not have gotten NFL chance at receiver

Emotions ran high for running back Tyrone Tracy Jr., who was selected 166th overall by the New York Giants in the 2024 NFL Draft.

A phone call from Giants general manager Joe Schoen resulted in a life-changing moment for the former All-Big 10 back.

“It was very emotional,” Tracy Jr. said. “I’m blessed. I’m grateful. I’ve been working for this for 20 years, so when you work for something for so long and you see that all the work has an outcome and you see the results from it, it’s a special moment for me and my family.”

Tracy Jr. started his college football career as a wide receiver at Iowa in 2019. Later, he transferred to Purdue and switched to the running back position before the 2023 season.

“I knew that I could play running back because I played it my whole life,” Tracy Jr. told reporters. “I just changed to receiver. It was actually easier to transition to running back than it was to go to receiver, because receiver is different techniques and different things you have to do to be successful at that position. So when I went back to running back everything came naturally. I had to be more detailed and more focused on the details and the fundamentals of the position.”

The 5-foot-11, 209-pound back rushed for 716 yards and eight touchdowns on 113 carries and made 19 catches for 132 yards in 2023.

Tracy Jr. believes that playing running back was the turning point that helped him achieve his dream of playing in the NFL. He said “To be honest, no” when asked if he would have been drafted had he stayed at wide receiver.

“At receiver, I might have been an average speed receiver, average size receiver,” he said. “At running back, I’m a fast running back, I’m a big running back. I’m a running back who can catch the ball out of the backfield, so, yeah, when you look at how God placed everything and allowed my situation to align up, switching to running back from receiver was actually the missing piece to the puzzle.”