Ian Book's Relationship with Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees is Rare

Former Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees saw it all during his college career. 

The Lake Forest (Ill.) native went from true freshman starter to being a backup for a National Championship game run and then back to starter his senior year. 

Those experiences have prepared him to be an offensive coordinator at Notre Dame and quarterback Ian Book couldn't be more fired up as he spoke on the first-year coordinator with Jac Collinsworth on Distanced Training.  

"Learning from somebody who has done it seven or eight years ago makes the biggest difference for me," Book told Collinsworth. "He's been in the situations and been through the pressures. It's not like he played quarterback somewhere else. He's been through the same exact pressure I've been through as a Notre Dame quarterback. 

"That to me is an outlet. He's someone you can talk to. I go into his office every day and we'll do a meeting about football and then we start talking about life." 

Rees took over the quarterback coach role in 2017 and has been crucial in the development of Book. 

The two have grown extremely close over time, but know how to separate their friendship when it's time to work. 

"I consider him a best friend of mine, but at the same time a coach," explained Book. "He knows how to switch from being a friend to meeting time. He'll get on me and then five seconds later, we're fine. That's something in a coach I wouldn't say is normal and it's pretty rare."

Book might be the most impressed with Rees' ability to relate to his players, but his memory might be a close second. 

"His memory is unbelievable," laughed Book. "He'll call a play or something that he remembered that he ran six or seven years ago. It will be spot on. He'll say 'I remember, right hash against Purdue. This is my favorite throw. The Sam took this guy and boom. Hit it over the safety.' We'll go watch the play. The film quality is horrible, but it's perfectly accurate."

 There is definitely a sense of excitement from Book, but also the entire offense. 

Rees still has much to prove on Saturday, but knowing his guys will play for him is step one.

"Knowing he's super smart," Book told Collinsworth. "He's taught me everything. I can't say enough about him from the day he got there as quarterback coach. I've learned everything from him. To now have him as a coordinator, I  hit the jackpot.

"I'm excited for it. I really am. I'm happy for him to get that opportunity. I believe he's ready for it. People may be worried because he's so young, but I'm not worried at all about that. He's ready for it. I think you'll see that when we start playing."

Notre Dame's offense under Rees likely won't be overwhelmingly different from what fans have seen over the last few years. 

However, Book is confident Rees will put him and the offense in situations that play to their strengths. 

"We were talking about every quarterback is good at their own thing," Book stated. "It's about having a system that can fit that QB well in whatever he does and Coach Rees is unbelievable at that. 

"Every coordinator likes to run their offense a certain way, but at the same time, whoever is playing quarterback for you, it's about making adjustments to fit what he's good at. 

"We've talked about that a ton. I believe he knows what my strengths are and we're going to work around that. To have someone like that in my corner is going to make a big difference."

The success of the Irish offense also is in the hands of Book. The fifth-year senior has to execute at a higher level and make game-winning plays in big games. 

Book will be the first to admit that and during quarantine, the 6-foot, 212-pounder has been rewatching games, including the Georgia game from last fall.  

"I just watched that game and I remember having a hard time watching it," Book explained to Collinsworth. "We fed Cole (Kmet) a ton in the first half and it was working. We threw Chase the ball in the second half and it was working. I don't know if it was a specific plan, but I think if I change a couple things and play a little better, we win that game. 

"It was hard to watch. It's about learning from it. It was the craziest atmosphere I've ever played in. It was the most fun. I remember being totally locked in and engaged. I thought we could totally win that game. We weren't able to come out on top, but I think if I made a couple changes, which I've watched the film probably nine times with Coach Rees, the changes I make, we win that game." 

As for his future, Book has his eye on the NFL and while he could have tested the waters this year, he decided to return to Notre Dame. 

"It's been a dream of mine forever and I obviously wanted to, but there were a lot of reasons telling me to go back," explained Book. "I feel really comfortable and I haven't thought twice about it. 

"I believe I can get better with one more year. Coach Rees is the coordinator and all the offensive line is coming back. That's huge. There are things I can improve on and then I think I'll be ready for it."