Tommy Rees wanted this to happen, he just didn’t want it to happen the way it did.
Rees lost something very dear to him a little less than two years ago: the starting quarterback job at Notre Dame. Rees had been the starter for the part of his freshman year and all of his sophomore season when Everett Golson’s play moved him down on the depth chart to backup. That’s the role he was in when Notre Dame went undefeated to reach the BCS national title game, which it lost to Alabama.
Golson was suspended before this season for academic issues. That helped Rees land the starting job. And after leading the Fighting Irish to an 8-4 mark, the senior will start his final game against Rutgers (6-6) in the Pinstripe Bowl on Saturday at Yankee Stadium. Golson was just readmitted by the school, and is on course to compete for the job in 2014.
“You never want something like that to happen to one of your teammates,” Rees said at the Stadium on Thursday. “When I found out, I really felt for him.”
Rees was on a golf course in Los Angeles when the first texts about Golson started to light up his phone. He wasn’t sure how true the reports were, but by the time he and a friend had finished their round it was “pretty official.”
He contacted Golson to make sure he was all right and then began to think about the 2013 season.
“I didn’t wish that upon him by any stretch,” Rees said, “but I was excited to get the opportunity to play the whole season again.”
He said he got votes of confidence from some of his closest friends on the team, but he also was impressed by the messages he got from other teammates. “The way they responded to me was great,” he said. “That’s the kind of team we’ve been.”
Rees has played well in his return to the starting job. He has thrown for 2,938 yards and 29 touchdowns with only 13 interceptions, and the Irish rebounded from early-season stumbles against Michigan and Oklahoma to post wins over USC, Michigan State and Arizona State.
In coming to the Pinstripe Bowl, Rees is completing a circle of sorts. He was the starter for Notre Dame in 2010 when it beat Army, 27-3, in the Bronx.
“It was awesome: playing Army and it was my second start,” he said. “I remember walking out into Yankee Stadium and being completely blown away. I had (Derek) Jeter’s locker and that completely blew me away as well. I was an 18-year-old kid. It was an awesome experience because we won the game.”
This time around he is looking to end a tumultuous four years with another win in New York.
“It’s cool to kind of come full circle coming here,” Rees said. “This time I am more of a complete player. I’m a better leader. This season I’ve been able to be the guy people looked toward and I’m going to be happy playing one more time with this team.”
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