Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees Notebook | Sept. 13

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees spoke on Tuesday evening as the Irish prepare to host Cal. 

On how he’s been able to help the team and provide perspective given what he went through as a player:
”There are tidbits here. Be around the people that know what we're doing and what we're going through and who understand. Surround yourself with people that care, and try to block out as much noise as you can. I've been in harder times here before, personally, and just as a team, certainly, you can look to a couple of years that early on. You try to bring a perspective that way. You try to allow guys to focus on us and improve and do all those things as much as you can these days. 

“But look, every individual handles this stuff differently. As a staff, I think it's really important that we lead by example, and that we're out in front and have energy and continue to be ourselves. Not changing who we are, none of that stuff. As much as we can be the example for how we want to continue to push through this and rally together.”

On how questions he had regarding the offense during the offseason have manifested themselves during the season:
“Obviously, before a season and before a game, you kind of go through worst-case scenarios. I think there were certainly some question marks going into the season. You have some young players, yeah, some inexperienced players. You have some guys that are in expanded roles. You hope the progress that they have throughout a training camp translates to the field, and certainly, you're seeing some progress, but not as quickly as we'd like it. 

“I’ve got to put them in better positions. We got to ask them to do things that puts the offense in a good spot all the time. That's my job, and with a group that's younger, and hasn't played a ton, it's even more important that we put them in spots that are going to be positive for them. You don't have a veteran group that's going to be able to answer all those questions on their own. It starts with me. I take full ownership. I want to take full ownership. I want to be part of the solution here and continue to push our players, push our staff and find a way through all this.”

On Drew Pyne and how he’s carried himself in practice this week:
“You guys know Drew. His care factor is through the roof. He gives a shit — a lot. So he's gonna walk into the building and do everything in his power to be ready to play Saturday. That's just who the kid is. That's why he's here. He has that energy. He kind of has that respect of his teammates that can inject some life into our group right now, which we need. He has that, which is tremendous. 

“I told him on Sunday, ‘you're the perfect guy to help us through this right now. You have the perfect mentality and energy.’ All that stuff's great. He had a sharp practice today. He's going to continue to be sharp mentally. Then we want to get him to a point Saturday where he can go out there and doesn't have to press. Just go out there, play free play with some confidence and go be himself.”

On how to put Pyne in the best position to succeed:
“I don't want to give out too much here, but we know what he's good at. He knows what he's good at. We got to make sure he keeps that in the front of the mind. Then I've got a call a game that highlights that. I'm not going to go into the details of what those things are. But we know plays, we know concepts, we know things that we refer to as blankets — there's a certain comfort level there when you call it. So we've got to put them in as many of those positions as we can while also attacking what Cal does defensively.”

On halftime adjustments this season:
“I think everybody has been really good throughout the first two games. There's really good communication on the headset, good communication on the sideline. We come in, 'hey, this is what we're doing.' To be honest with you, that happens throughout series to series. 

“Coach Parker has been tremendous. Coach Hiestand has been tremendous. Those guys have all had feedback. We get into halftime and say 'hey, this is how we want to start attacking him the second half and this is what we're seeing on third down. How do we adjust and get to our players and try to communicate and make sure we outline a plan for them coming out of halftime.'"

On the offensive struggles coming out of halftime:
“I think it's something we got to continue to work at certainly. We're aware of that. We've got to make sure that we stay the course. We got to make sure we stay the course and understand how we want to operate in the second half, and the ways that we can attack them. It's certainly something that we work hard at and want to continue to improve at. There are factors all over the place. Game situations sometimes come into play, field position can come into play. All those things we got to take a look at and just continue to be aggressive coming out of halftime.”

On getting Steve Angeli ready to play in case something happens to Drew Pyne: 
“He moved into the Gug.”

“We have a great support staff of guys that help with quarterbacks. I have a lot of trust in the guys that we have in place. Obviously, I drive it. But if I'm with Drew somebody's with Steve, and fine with the offense, somebody's with both of them, and just making sure that that that always stays sharp. Like I texted Steve at seven o'clock last night, I said, 'why aren't you in the building still.' And he was here at 7:05. He said, 'I'm still down here, coach.' I said, 'okay, just making sure.' 

“His demeanor is perfect. He's pretty unflappable, he's got a nice calmness to him. He plays the position with ease. So I told him, there's no easing into this thing. You're getting the offense or the expectations are what they are of any player that's playing quarterback for us. We've got to continue to hold him to that and put it in some positions to be challenged. He's gotten more work this week than he has in a while, but he's handled it really well. He had a good day to day, and just continue to build the confidence in him and build his ability to run the show.”

On if he looks at the offensive line taking time to gel or if he can put them into a better position:
"First and foremost, whether it's running the ball or protecting the quarterback, whatever it is, that people will just point to the offensive line, it really takes all 11. There's probably other issues that are naked to some eyes. Yeah, the line will get pointed at, but it could have been this, or it could have been that. When we look at some of those things, it takes all 11 to be successful in the run game. Quarterback, tight ends, receivers, it takes all 11. It takes all 11 to be successful in protecting the quarterback. From the back to the communication to the routes, the sights, whatever it may be, it takes all 11.

“We look at this thing completely as how do we as a group continue to improve. And yes, there's individuals and position groups that all need to improve in certain areas, but it's a group collective that we're trying to improve at. It starts with me. I'm trying to improve and make sure that we give the offensive line the best looks possible to run the football. We try to give them the best plan possible to protect the quarterback.

“(I’ll) try to make it crystal clear. It starts with me, but it's all 11 plus the coaches. It takes all of us to make this thing go. I'm not a huge believer in, 'Oh, it's this position.' It's really everybody. We have to make sure that we continue to put them in positions to be successful. Then continue to improve them through the weeks, so they go out on Saturday and can play to their ability. We have more than enough talent. We have to make sure we develop it. We have to make sure we put it in position to be successful. I will take every ounce of frickin' blame for all of it because I'm in charge of the offense. That's fine. We continue to improve them. We continue to get them better."

On if the inability to run the ball has been a surprise and if there are things he thought he would be able to do that he hasn’t been able to do to this point:
"Yeah. We believe in our group. We believe in our ability to run the football. That's not going to change. We want that to be part of our identity from the very top down. So we're going to continue to attack that week in and week out and make sure that we give our guys a chance. That's important. Then allow them the confidence in the ability to go execute it. We'll continue to find ways, and we're going to continue to improve and get those guys ready to go."

On if there are specific players he wants to get the ball to more:
“Yeah, there are certain guys that I think have earned it. Guys that we want to continue to try to highlight, try to help create some explosives. There’s some young guys that I think we can get involved. We’re going to continue to find roles for those guys. We want to add some playmaking out there. We’re going to put specific guys in situations to do that.”

On getting RB Chris Tyree the ball more:
"Just expand what we're asking him to do. We have three backs that we think can all help us win. It's hard to play three backs. That's just the truth of the matter. It's hard to play three guys at that position. 

"Chris is somebody that we explicitly trust. He's been through this with us for three years. He's a guy we've counted on through a lot of really good wins and a lot of big moments. I have nothing but trust in Chris Tyree. I love that kid. We have to find a way to highlight his ability. That's my job."

On his message to the offensive line:
"Stay the course. Keep working. Keep listening to Coach Hiestand. Keep believing in each other and trusting each other. Our two tackles have played like nine games combined. It's going to take some time to continue to get those guys comfortable with who they're playing next to. Obviously having 55 (Jarrett Patterson) back, we'll continue to improve and get that group going. He'll help the center. Lugg will help the center. Just having the continuity continue to build as we get going."

On if there are things he can simplify to help the younger players get on the field:
"Yeah. For those guys who don't have a ton of experience yet, can we give them a handful of things. Hey, go do this Saturday. Then in two weeks, it's a handful more. And in six weeks, now they have a third of the offense. So you can slowly build that in. That's important. That's going to be something we continue to look for."

On how freshmen tight ends Eli Raridon and Holden Staes handled a small package and where they are currently at:
"Progressing. Guys that we believe in. Merriweather in the same group. Gi'Bran Payne in the same group. We have guys that we think can help us. Getting those guys work throughout camp - was Columbus the right situation for them for their first snaps? Maybe, maybe not.

“We continue to put together a little bit of a package for them as we continue to move ahead. That will expand week to week. They continue to practice at a high level that can continue to grow. There's a tremendous amount of urgency with our group. Somebody asked me, 'Hey, any silver linings?' The urgency for guys to practice hard and learn it and continue to work and improve, that's been maybe the silver lining. Those young guys, you can probably feel it from them more than anyone."

On freshman WR Tobias Merriweather:
"Just consistency in what's your job? What are you doing? And then he possesses length and speed, so that's a huge plus. But it's the consistency to say, 'Hey, this is what I'm doing play in and play out,' and just continuing to build that trust. We can give you a package, go operate these six plays and see how it goes."

On if he has to change anything with Drew Pyne being the quarterback:
"A little bit. Drew's niftier than people give him credit for."

On if he spoke to Jarrett Patterson following Saturday’s game:
"There's no question on his commitment to this group. There's no question on his commitment to this university. Do we want him to handle himself differently? Sure. But nobody's ever questioned that with J-Patt. There doesn't really need to be much said to him. He knows it. He cares a lot. He's a two-time captain for a reason. The least of our worries there."

On how the daily health check-ins with Matt Balis benefit the team:
"Coach Balis does a tremendous job. There's stuff that they do that I'm not even privy to. We have relationships with our guys on our side of the ball that if there's something that needs to be addressed, we have those connections and relationships that we can have those hard conversations to make sure that we're taking care of our players."

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