Notre Dame football: Tommy Rees not(r)ebook
Notre Dame is two practices into their 2022 fall camp as their opener at Ohio State now sits less than four weeks away. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees met the media after the second practice of the fall Saturday and shared a bit of a peak behind the curtain about what is going on with Notre Dame’s offense early in camp.
Where have the Irish spent literally all of their time working on the offense early on?
What are the early returns on the quarterback competition that Marcus Freeman discussed on Friday?
And why did one of the nation’s best centers move to guard?
All of that and more from Rees on Saturday is below.
Working in the red zone
Santiago Flores/South Bend Tribune via USA TODAY NETWORK
Through two days of camp the Notre Dame offense has only taken snaps from the 15-yard line and in. Here is what Rees shared with that decision early on.
“It’s strategically a good thing. We’re going to have the ability to be creative down there with personnel packages. We’ll have the ability to be strong up front, strong in our protection and our run scheme there. We have guys who can make plays for us. The obvious ones are obvious, but we have younger guys coming on when they have the chance to be one-on-one or in space, they’ve made some plays that have opened up some things we can do.”
On Drew Pyne's changes after two years
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“Drew is extremely hungry. He’s competing at a high level. He’s preparing at an extremely high level. He’s doing more film study than he ever has before. I think he learned from Jack (Coan). Jack was a film nut. Drew has taken after that. The biggest jump is him just really studying. The big thing we’ll say is that has to translate to the field. That’s what we’re constantly after.”
Tyler Buchner's growth in red zone
Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune via AP
“It’s knowing the balance of ‘Yes, we got it,’ or ‘No, I have to progress.’ Those nuanced parts are important to how we continue to understand certain situations down there. Because down there, it’s critical. Our defense does a great job of making it extremely hard with some of their packages down there.
“We have to understand do we have a look where we can attack, or do we have a look where we have to make the right decision? That’s why I like being down there early in camp because it’s really a challenge on the quarterback.”
Finding right spots for guys to thrive
Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune via AP
“We have a ton of guys who can play. With some of the guys you don’t mention, can you give us 20 snaps a game? Can you give us this situation? Can you major in this area of the field? Can we come up with a niche spot for some of these guys? That’s what we’re finding. That’s what camp is for. That’s building confidence in our guys and putting them in positions to see what they can and can’t do.”
Jarrett Patterson's move to guard
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Notre Dame center Jarrett Patterson is seen as one of the best centers in the entire nation entering his final year with the program. Why then is he moving to guard?
“Doesn’t change a whole lot. We’re extremely pleased. It has been a good transition for him. Zeke has made a lot of strides over the last eight months. We’re all about getting our best 11 on the field together. We feel extremely confident in the combinations of having those guys out there together.”
