Tommy Rees - Offensive Coordinator

[T-Boone]

Where did Clarke end up?

 

[stlnd01]

Clark we got after Cade McNamara decommitted and our push for Graham Mertz was too little too late. I feel like it's acceptable to take a kid with good physical tools but who's a massive project in that scenario. And had we followed it up with Buchner/Pyne, McCarthy, Angeli I don't think anyone would've been complaining too much about taking him. And if Buchner had been on campus in 2020, he might be in year 2 as ND's starting QB.

I don’t remember (and frankly kind of tuned out during Covid) but was Buchner reclassifying ever a real possibility? Agree that + McCarthy would’ve been a very good outcome.

 

[Irish4life]

I don’t remember (and frankly kind of tuned out during Covid) but was Buchner reclassifying ever a real possibility? Agree that + McCarthy would’ve been a very good outcome.

It was being discussed, don't think it was ever as real as the Carr stuff is but it was at least on the radar. Pure 100% speculation, but if CJ Carr can make it happen from Saline HS, I'm sure Buchner could've made it happen from The Bishop's School. Probably the easier and more realistic option would've been asking McCarthy to reclass to 22.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

That's what we've been fielding consistently since Kelly arrived in 2010--a low ceiling/ high floor pedestrian offense that reliably beats less talented teams, but gives us very little chance against more talented teams. Given our conservatism on that side of the ball and the way we've recruited offense, I'd expect to be ranked in the 25th-20th range most years, which is exactly what our OFEI has averaged out to. We've only had a single season--2015--where the offense was good enough to give us a chance in the post-season.

Seems to me this post better articulates why some fans are so fed up with Tommy. It feels like more of the same, with the added pressures due to getting shut out in the second half against Ok St, losing to Marshall, and having one of the worst halves in history against Cal. People don’t want low ceiling/high floor offenses that when combined with awful recruiting lower both outcomes respectively. They want to see the Clausens, Floyds, etc sign with ND and then start competing with other top 10 programs offensively on a yearly basis. Not once every 10-15 years like in 2015.

If ND looked anything remotely like Clemson, most rational ND fans would be over the moon.

 

[Luckylucci]

My big issue is that ND used to really recruit guys with upside and there haven't been many recently where they project as having "elite" tools. For example, contrast Drew Allar with Steven Angeli. Angeli might end up being a better QB, but it won't be because of his arm/athleticism/etc.

Golson, Kiel, Kizer, Wimbush all had some elite traits whether it was arm or athleticism or a combination. Zaire didn't have upside as a thrower and was the only one in that group that was "limited."

Then you had a bunch of QBs from Book onward where you go "it would take a miracle for that guy to be an NFL starter". Jurkovec and Buchner are literally the only guys since '16 who even had "pro" traits on paper. And both were projects as passers.

The way ND recruits QB versus how Bama or Ohio State or other serious schools do is insane. Bama will bring in four top rated guys in a row and won't care that two bust. ND will be stuck praying that the one quality guy they sign pans out and will have no contingency plan for that not being the case.

I’d be completely fine if the rest of this season was Freeman figuring out if Allar, Brown, or Klubnick had what it took to be great. Instead we keep the questions with the losses.

 

[Dale]

If ND looked anything remotely like Clemson, most rational ND fans would be over the moon.

Current Clemson with DJ U or recent iterations of Clemson?

 

[Bluto]

Current Clemson with DJ U or recent iterations of Clemson?

They haven’t been lights out College Football Playoff caliber with DJ U but yeah definitely waaaay better than what ND has done on O over the first three games of the year. So in that sense if ND had an O comparable to Clemson’s they’d be 2-1. Maybe not over the moon status but probably not questioning everything and anything offense related.

 

[Sea Turtle]

Driskell was talking about Tennessee's offense today. He said that they don't have more talent on offense than ND and that their offense is humming three games into Heupels second year.

Also opined that there is just no excuse for ND's offense to struggle every year. Rees has had several years to build a strong, dynamic offense.

 

[ColinKSU]

Driskell was talking about Tennessee's offense today. He said that they don't have more talent on offense than ND and that their offense is humming three games into Heupels second year.

Also opined that there is just no excuse for ND's offense to struggle every year. Rees has had several years to build a strong, dynamic offense.

“He just needs a few more years until we can fairly judge him.”

- Half of ND fans, after they get a few days of separation from a stinker performance on offense

 

[Irish4life]

Driskell was talking about Tennessee's offense today. He said that they don't have more talent on offense than ND and that their offense is humming three games into Heupels second year.

Also opined that there is just no excuse for ND's offense to struggle every year. Rees has had several years to build a strong, dynamic offense.

Well he's just straight up wrong about Tennessee not having more talent on offense than ND lmao. Straight up, objectively wrong. No debate there really, besides maybe along the OL and definitely at TE.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

Current Clemson with DJ U or recent iterations of Clemson?

They haven’t been lights out College Football Playoff caliber with DJ U but yeah definitely waaaay better than what ND has done on O over the first three games of the year. So in that sense if ND had an O comparable to Clemson’s they’d be 2-1. Maybe not over the moon status but probably not questioning everything and anything offense related.

The premise was that ND will never model the Bama, OSU, and Georgia programs, but Clemson is a program that ND could emulate to a degree. It’s a program that is persistently among the upper echelon of CFB and with the right QB ascends to the top and competes for championships.

ND felt very close to this over the last five years. But a lack of offensive recruiting has lead to some severe holes. As Bluto points out, imagine if ND had DJ at QB and similar skill players….

 

[tko]

DJ is Dayne Crist reincarnated. Klubnick will be starting by the time they play us. He simply struggles reading the defenses and processing what he sees.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Driskell was talking about Tennessee's offense today. He said that they don't have more talent on offense than ND and that their offense is humming three games into Heupels second year.

Also opined that there is just no excuse for ND's offense to struggle every year. Rees has had several years to build a strong, dynamic offense.

I would disagree with Driskell on the talent level comparison. Now maybe Hooker makes that talent around him a lot better. But the concern of good skill position recruiting on offense for the Irish the last three years has been discussed at length out here.

 

[Dale]

The premise was that ND will never model the Bama, OSU, and Georgia programs, but Clemson is a program that ND could emulate to a degree. It’s a program that is persistently among the upper echelon of CFB and with the right QB ascends to the top and competes for championships.

ND felt very close to this over the last five years. But a lack of offensive recruiting has lead to some severe holes. As Bluto points out, imagine if ND had DJ at QB and similar skill players….

I would not be “over the moon” if we had Clemson’s offense right now. Better than current state? Yes. But very very far from over the moon.

 

[irishff1014]

Driskell was talking about Tennessee's offense today. He said that they don't have more talent on offense than ND and that their offense is humming three games into Heupels second year.

Also opined that there is just no excuse for ND's offense to struggle every year. Rees has had several years to build a strong, dynamic offense.

Again IMO Rees is not the guy. Others love him since played here. Another chapter that needs to end.

 

[Sea Turtle]

I would disagree with Driskell on the talent level comparison. Now maybe Hooker makes that talent around him a lot better. But the concern of good skill position recruiting on offense for the Irish the last three years has been discussed at length out here.

It would be interesting to compare them position by position.

 

[tko]

I can't wait to see what Touchdown Tommy has dialed up for today.

 

[FDNYIrish1]

You either need an elite QB to elevate the level of play around him. Elite playmakers who make an average quarterback a game manager. Or both. We have none of the above right now. And TR hasn’t been able to adapt to this. We have very good players and Mayer. There is no need for our offense to be so pedestrian.

 

[Bluto]

I can't wait to see what Touchdown Tommy has dialed up for today.

Touchdowns?

Now which team is scoring them remains to be seen! Haha.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I would not be “over the moon” if we had Clemson’s offense right now. Better than current state? Yes. But very very far from over the moon.

Right but isn’t that the point? Even in a down year it’s still better than what we’re fielding now. They aren’t playing well but are still 3-0 and ranked number 5. Most ND fans will take a Top 10-15 ranking in a “down year,” and that’s assuming DJ doesn’t get it turned around.

 

[IrishLax]

We’re talking about Clemson but really WF should be model for ND. They have consistently productive offense even with very little NFL talent. Why? Identity that they commit to and build on every year.

 

[Dale]

Right but isn’t that the point? Even in a down year it’s still better than what we’re fielding now. They aren’t playing well but are still 3-0 and ranked number 5. Most ND fans will take a Top 10-15 ranking in a “down year,” and that’s assuming DJ doesn’t get it turned around.

I mean the offense has little to nothing to do with being 3-0 and #5. It’d be over the moon to be 3-0, to have Clemson’s DL, not to have Clemson’s offense.

 

[Bluto]

I mean the offense has little to nothing to do with being 3-0 and #5. It’d be over the moon to be 3-0, to have Clemson’s DL, not to have Clemson’s offense.

Doesn’t the offense usually have to score more points than the opponent to win? That’s a bit more than “nothing”. I’m not sure Clemsons d and special teams have scored all their points this year but I could be wrong.

 

[BleedBlueGold]

I mean the offense has little to nothing to do with being 3-0 and #5. It’d be over the moon to be 3-0, to have Clemson’s DL, not to have Clemson’s offense.

That’s not the point. The point is that clemson’s bad years are still top 10-15. ND’s bad years are like 5-7 or 6-6 (we’ll see how this year plays out). It’s my opinion that fans would be happy with the down years being what Clemson was last year and this year.

 

[Dale]

That’s not the point. The point is that clemson’s bad years are still top 10-15. ND’s bad years are like 5-7 or 6-6 (we’ll see how this year plays out). It’s my opinion that fans would be happy with the down years being what Clemson was last year and this year.

You’re original point was it would be irrational to not be “over the moon” to look like Clemson.
I asked if that meant Clemson’s current offense (since we’re in a thread about Rees), and you seemed to answer with affirmation.

Yes I would love to be Clemson overall right now, I don’t have that exact same feeling towards just their offense, which is why I attempted to clarify if this was just their offense to begin with. This seems to be moot and different points at this stage.

 

[arrowryan]

We’re talking about Clemson but really WF should be model for ND. They have consistently productive offense even with very little NFL talent. Why? Identity that they commit to and build on every year.

Hire their OC in December

 

[ColinKSU]

We’re talking about Clemson but really WF should be model for ND. They have consistently productive offense even with very little NFL talent. Why? Identity that they commit to and build on every year.

It helps when you actually know what the foundation is that you plan to build upon.

 

[IrishLax]

I want to give Rees props but 1st and goal from the 2 you need to run it four straight times. Just shot ourselves in the foot for no earthly reason.

 

[StPaul_Irish]

Hire their OC in December

FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK

 

[dankgesang]

I remain oline skeptical.