Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/140522
quarterbacks There always has been somebody on the Fighting Irish quarterback roster who, on paper, is more skilled, more highly touted, bigger, faster and stronger than Rees. Yet, when all is said and done, Rees is the most reliable "date" when needed. As a freshman in 2010, Rees stayed ahead of his higher-rated classmate Hendrix and moved past the walk-on with the better pedigree — Nate Montana — to become the top backup to Crist, a junior and former five-star recruit. When Crist was sidelined with a knee injury during the 4‑5 start, Rees stepped in and helped produce a 4-0 finish. At the time, skeptics believed Rees was merely a stopgap measure. The following season, Crist won back the starting spot in August — but lost it by halftime of the opener. Rees nearly rallied the Irish from a 16‑0 deficit in the 23-20, season-beginning loss to South Florida. By the end of the year, the seemingly more versatile Hendrix was threatening to supplant Rees, but again Rees remained atop the depth chart. After Rees' brush with the law in May 2012 that led to an openinggame suspension and thrust the more dynamic Golson into the spotlight, popular outside reaction was, "Rees will never play another meaningful down at Notre Dame." Wrong again. Rees remained ahead of Hendrix and Kiel, and when Golson was injured late in game two versus Purdue, Rees entered the game to audible boos in Notre Dame Stadium — and promptly led a clutch 55-yard drive that set up kicker Kyle Brindza's game-winning 27-yard field goal with seven seconds left. Two weeks later when Golson was replaced after tossing two early interceptions against Michigan, Rees provided a steady hand the final three quarters and scored the lone touchdown in a 13-6 conquest. Preseason Analysis ★★★★ National Title Contention; ★★★ BCS Contention; ★★ Top 25 Potential; ★ Too Unproven Starter ★★ There aren't many "backup" quarterbacks in America who already have had 18 career starts the way senior Tommy Rees has — but he's been actually more cherished for his work off the bench when the team has found itself in a tight spot. His knowledge and game acumen make him more likely to become a college or NFL head coach than an NFL quarterback because his physical skill sets are limited. It is unlikely Rees would start at any other current top-15 programs, but minus Everett Golson he provides the Fighting Irish coaching staff the greatest comfort zone entering 2013. Experience ★★★ Rees' poise and efficiency last year when the game — and a chance at the national title — was on the line against Purdue, Michigan, Stanford and BYU were remarkable. He also was clutch in a fourth-quarter comeback win at Pitt in 2011, and he threw a go-ahead TD pass with 30 seconds at Michigan the same year. Classmate Andrew Hendrix is in his fourth year with head coach Brian Kelly's system, so it's he would not be a neophyte if he needed to play. Hendrix could be a crucial component to the 2013 offense when it comes to adding some versatility. Depth ★★ Although Hendrix came out of high school rated higher than his classmate Rees, and possesses a stronger arm and better running skills, he has never been able to overtake him the past three seasons, nor this spring. With Golson and Gunner Kiel both gone from last year's roster, freshman Malik Zaire went from No. 5 on the 2013 depth chart to No. 3 in a span of just less than four months. A terrific runner, he will need much more polish as a passer to compete at this level, but it's not inconceivable that he or Hendrix could be called on to assist the offense with some basic packages that can take advantage of their mobility. Overall Grade ★★ With Golson — who benefited greatly last year with the training wheels still on and was the top potential playmaker on the 2013 offense — Notre Dame was perceived as a bona fide BCS team, with a 9-3 regular-season record as the floor. Without Golson, the Fighting Irish are seeking answers again in the playmaking department on offense, and 9-3 might be perceived as the ceiling. This is especially true with the loss of four of the top six receivers (particularly tight end Tyler Eifert), the top two running backs and the center. Rees relieved an injured Golson again to finish a scoring drive against Stanford that put the game into overtime, and then completed a thirdand-eight pass to Theo Riddick before tossing he game-winning score to TJ Jones. A week later, Rees started in the 17-14 victory against BYU to keep the perfect regular season alive. "My whole time on offense he's been awesome as a kid that will compete and try to win a spot. He's a coach's kid that's always understood the big picture and always had Notre Dame's best interests." Offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach Chuck Martin on Tommy Rees By the final month of the season, Golson had established himself as the program's present and future at quarterback, but Rees remained the good soldier. He even agreed with Kelly when the head coach told him prior to spring drills that Kiel — another five-star prospect, like Crist — needed more reps in Rees' place so the staff could make a better evaluation of the promising youngster. Kiel departed before getting that chance, and Rees quietly continued to be a leader on the unit despite his defined role as an emergency option. Setting The Tempo Why doesn't Notre Dame play at the breakneck tempo Brian Kelly's 2009 Cincinnati team did when it finished 12-0? That was one of the more popular inquiries during Kelly's first three seasons at Notre Dame. In year one, Kelly slowed down the attack because the team's strength was a more methodical pace with freshman quarterback Tommy Rees. It led to a 4-0 finish over the final month. In 2011, turnovers (29) plagued the offense, and last year some spoon-feeding had to occur with inexperienced quarterback Everett Golson. Having a dominant defense also helped set a game plan to be more drawn out offensively. For Notre Dame offensive coordinator Chuck Martin, tempo is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Oregon can play fast, Alabama can play at a more normal pace, and other teams can be in between. "You would always hope in 2013 on offense to be able to play at different tempos because that's kind of how the game has evolved," Martin said. "There used to not be different tempos. Now there is. If you had your druthers and everything was clicking on all cylinders, you'd like to be able to play as fast as you want, because there are obvious advantages: limited defensive substitutions, sometimes limiting the call that they can get in — they're going to become more vanilla, maybe wearing out some defensive linemen … "There are certain pros to doing it, and there are teams that do it and do it all the time successfully." There are also pluses to playing less frenetically. "There are certainly 'pros' in the fourth quarter with a lead and going at a snail's pace," Martin said. "The best is mixing it up. Play fast, play medium, maybe play slow and mix it up so the defense is always a little bit off balance. "You're a little bit behind, you want to go fast. You're a little lethargic and you just want to change it up and go fast. Or you just want to play at a normal pace because the game dictates it. Or you want to slow it down because you have a lead." Martin's favorite way to play is "snail's pace." "You say, 'What's your favorite tempo?' It's when we've got in the deep freeze because we've got a lead," Martin said. "We're moving the ball methodically down the field, they're behind and they don't have the ball. I like to be ahead and draining clock all the time. That would be awesome — you win a lot of games that way. "We weren't capable last year for a lot of reasons to go as fast at times as maybe we would like to or sometimes were used to doing. A lot of it has to do with being inexperienced at quarterback, and the inexperience at other places on offense. I would like to think we would be more balanced with our tempo, that we have the ability to play whatever tempo we want to play." — Lou Somogyi Blue & Gold Illustrated 2013 Football Preview ✦ 41 40-43.QBs.indd 41 6/25/13 9:33 AM