September 6, 2011

Tim Prister
IrishIllustrated.com Senior Editor

If Jonas Gray had scored a touchdown instead of fumbling for six points the other way?

If Theo Riddick had caught the football?

If Tyler Eifert or TJ Jones had caught the football?

If Michael Floyd hadn’t been called for holding?

If Theo Riddick hadn’t fumbled the punt?

?Dayne Crist might be preparing for his second start of the 2011 season.

“It was a confluence of a lot of different situations,” said Brian Kelly following his announcement Tuesday that sophomore Tommy Rees would get the starting nod over Dayne Crist at Michigan Saturday night after Crist opened the season against South Florida in a 23-20 loss.

“If one thing had come out differently, whether it be a catch or a penalty that’s not called or holding onto the football or making a field goal, (Crist) is possibly still your starter.”

But that’s not what happened, and so Rees makes his first start of ’11, the first of many if he is as successful as he was against South Florida.

“Tommy was very productive in the second half and he’ll get a chance to start against Michigan,” Kelly said. “Nobody wants to change their quarterback each and every week. That’s not the way you play this game. So our hopes are Tommy is productive and can play at a high level week-in and week-out.

“He’s got a pretty good r?m?He’s 4-0 as a starter. He’s come off the bench twice and played very well under those circumstances. We don’t come into this decision thinking he’ll give us one game and then we’ll go back to Dayne. That’s not why we make this decision. We believe Tommy is capable of leading this football team, just as I believe strongly that Dayne is capable.”

Kelly acknowledged that Crist received very little help from his teammates.

“The quarterback gets way too much blame and gets way too much praise,” Kelly said. “He didn’t have a lot of help on Saturday. Unfortunately, it falls on the quarterback as the leader to be productive. So that’s why we went with this decision.”

Kelly isn’t one to make excuses for any player on his team, but he did feel it was necessary to offer a bit of a disclaimer on Crist’s performance against South Florida.

“I’m not here to cover Dayne’s butt. That’s not my job,” Kelly said. “But he did some really good things, and the offense comes pretty easily to him. The difference between good and great sometimes is being decisive. (But) when you look at the film and really break it down, Dayne did some really good things for us in the first half.”

But after completing 6-of-8 passes to start the game, Crist missed on six of his next seven, including an interception in the end zone with the Irish trailing, 13-0. Crist finished 7-of-15 for 95 yards and one touchdown. Rees was 24-of-34 for 296 yards in the second half with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

“As a quarterback, you have to be a leader, and as long as I’ve played quarterback, I’ve always prepared myself as a leader,” said Rees about moving into the starting role. “I think that’s something that comes natural to some guys.

“The best way to get the respect of your teammates is to go out there and play well, and then they know they can count on you. As long as you continue to do that, you really shouldn’t have any issues about gaining respect.”

Kelly said Rees shouldn’t be completely oblivious to the consequences of a poor performance Saturday night.

“You’ve got to be productive,” Kelly said. “If you’re not productive, you should be looking over your shoulder. (But) if you’re a productive quarterback and you’re doing the things we ask you to do, you should just go out there and play the game the way you know how to play.”

The low-key Rees showed little to no emotion when he met with the media Tuesday, which is typical of the 6-foot-2, 215-pounder from Lake Forest, Ill.

“Obviously, I’m eager and excited to play,” said Rees without the slightest hint of emotion. “It should be a great atmosphere at Michigan in the first night game. But at the end of the day, it’s just a football game. You try to treat it and prepare like it’s any other game. We need to go out there and play well. We have to prepare like it’s any other game.”

It’s not like stepping into Michigan Stadium in front of 109,901 fans will be a culture shock for Rees. Making just his fifth career start, Rees has played in Notre Dame Stadium, Yankee Stadium, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Sun Bowl.

“Towards the end of last year, we played in some pretty big venues, and hopefully those experiences will help me prepare for it a little more,” Rees said. “But you can’t get too caught up in everything that’s going on outside the game.”

Rees should benefit from the rapport that he’s developed with Michael Floyd. Floyd’s three top reception games have come with Rees at quarterback, including Saturday’s 12-catch, 154-yard, two-touchdown performance against South Florida.

“I don’t know that Tommy has a better relationship with Mike than Dayne has,” Kelly said. “(But) he seems to find him at the right times.”

“Our offense is trying to get the ball in our playmaker’s hands, and he’s one of the best play makers we have,” Rees said. “Looking for him and having him out there is definitely a plus for a quarterback.

“Maybe I throw to him sometimes when I shouldn’t. That’s something I have to learn to get better at. But as long as he’s out there and he’s playing, we’re a better team when the ball is in his hands, so we’ll try to get it to him.”