Notre Dame Quarterback Plans Should Not Include Tommy Rees
By Jack Crosby
Jan 3, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Tommy Rees (11) during practice for the 2013 BCS National Championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Nova Southeastern University. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Like having your shoe stuck in the train tracks as the oncoming freight cars approach, I saw disaster coming. The announcement had just come through the news-wire that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish would lose their starting quarterback that had just guided them to an appearance in the BCS National Championship Game–a sight that no one thought they’d see in this generation. Notre Dame competing for the national championship was just something your elders–much elder–informed you of. Nonetheless, that is what Everett Golson had done and that was the kind of void that head coach Brian Kelly would need to fill.
The only thing was, I knew exactly how he was going to fill it. The familiar, safe name was going to be called that was about to make me cringe–and I’m not even a Notre Dame fanatic.
And, not much longer after Golson departed, Kelly inferred that Tommy Rees was going to assume his old role as the starting quarterback of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. A decision that I believe was made hastily and without giving the situation proper thought.
As expected, the reasoning for handing the reigns back to Rees was due to his experience. This reasoning works if you’re going simply off the time he has spent on campus, but not if we’re talking about a track record of consistency and success.
From the time that Rees stepped foot on the heralded Notre Dame turf in 2010 as a freshman, he has been the model of inconsistency in college football. Mainly, he’s terrible at keeping the ball with his own offensive unit, throwing interceptions like there is a weekly charity drive in South Ben, Ind. Between ’10 and ’11, Rees’ TD-Int-Ratios were 12/8 and 20/14 respectively.
Even leading up to what would eventually turn out to be a magical run last season, there were whispers that Golson was stealing the job away from Tommy. Once Rees was arrested prior to the opener against Navy last season in Dublin, Ireland, those whispers became loud screams of joy. Golson impressed and the rest is history.
But, Golson impressed by doing what Tommy Rees couldn’t. He managed the team better than he could, plain and simple. While losing Golson was indeed a punishing blow, I constantly warned people to please not act as if Everett Golson was a Heisman contender by any means, because he wasn’t. He had his flaws, but they were masked by not only the fact that Notre Dame possessed one of the best defensive units in the nation, but also by the fact that the offense was designed for him to make minimal mistakes. Golson was fantastic at managing this task, while Rees isn’t.
There are two young men on the roster though that can handle that task, and I would venture to say that one–or both–will be under center by at least 1/4 of the way through the season.
Oct 8, 2011; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Andrew Hendrix (12) breaks a 78 yard run against the Air Force Falcons at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame defeated Air Force 59-23. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Senior Andrew Hendrix would the first option that Kelly should look to, and I’m surprised he didn’t. He’s experienced and possesses basically the same traits as Golson. His mobility is impeccable and he’s smart enough with his passes that he can keep the Irish out of any unwanted trouble. He’s been called upon in a few pressure-driven situations and filled in more that capably. All you have to do is take a look at his performance back in 2011 against a contentious Stanford Cardinal squad. Although Notre Dame fell short on that night, Hendrix showed the same flashes of talent similar to Golson’s in regards to leading this offense.
Or, if Brian Kelly wants to really experiment, he could send freshman Malik Zaire out for some snaps this year. The youngster was very impressive back in the spring game against what will again be a very tough Irish defense. He’s also incredibly mobile and has a strong, dangerously accurate throwing arm. A highly-touted recruit coming out of high school, Zaire seems numb to the pressure and could produce the same type of results that Golson did.
The bottom line is that Tommy Rees’ past in no way warrants him to step on the field this year as the Notre Dame starting quarterback. It was okay to play hot potato with Tommy at quarterback when the nation was virtually writing off the Irish program off for dead. However, last year, the echoes in South Bend were awoken and the ND fan base certainly won’t stand for mediocrity because of that–and that is all Rees would bring to the table under center.
Then again, if all else fails, Louis Nix III could just take the snaps.
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Jack is a College Football Writer for Saturday Blitz. Follow Jack on Twitter @JackJ14CFB