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By now, you've probably heard all about the ref so fast he can keep pace with Justin Jefferson, even when the 49ers defense can't. But now it's time to put a name on the zebra striped speedster and do a deep dive on the legend that is… Tyree Walton.
Walton became the talk of the NFL Week 2 weekend for an incredibly rare feat — a referee highlight that had absolutely nothing to do with a blown call and everything to do with some exceptional footwork and athleticism.
Somehow, despite this 54 yard heave being the throw of Sam Darnold‘s life, and the longest TD reception of Justin Jefferson's illustrious highlight reel of a career, the dude everyone is talking about is the speedy fireball of a ref not only able to stay with Jefferson the whole way down the field on the 97 yard touchdown reception, but able to stop on a dime to get out of Jefferson's way, switch directions, and even bust out a choice little hip flip as Jefferson approached the end zone.
So who is Tyree Walton? Well for starters, he's only a second-year NFL official. He's an NFL back judge who did 16 games last year, and was a back judge in the Big 12 Conference before that.
In college, he played running back for Adams State University in Colorado, which explains the fancy footwork. In 2005 he played in 10 games for the Grizzlies, scoring 3 TDs and rushing for 244 yards. He also caught 11 passes for 101 yards that season.
But with all due respect to his college playing career, he's probably going to be known going forward for the play he made as a ref. His moves quickly went viral, with fans and players non stop tweeting about it. The NFL refs' handle proudly bragged about one of their own.
Tyree Walton! He is the back judge in Brad Allen’s crew. When he’s not making highlights like these on the field, Tyree serves as Vice President of private wealth management at US Bank.
We’ll be keeping an eye on Tyree moving forward. What an awesome moment for him. https://t.co/SuBDIdZkVX
— NFL Ref Review (@NFLRefReview) September 16, 2024
Minnesota head coach Kevin O'Connell called Watson's moves “unbelievable” and even went over the footage with his team afterward.
And one company was hyping up the legend that is Tyree Walton well before this play. That would be U.S. Bank, where Walton works his day job, as Vice President of private wealth management. The big bank knew it had something special in Walton, when they posted about him three years ago.
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Now, the new highlight footage should definitely help Tyree Walton get some more clients. Who would you rather trust your retirement savings with, some rando named Bob, or the ref who outran Justin Jefferson?
