Tommy Rees on Michigan defensive front: 'They're as good as anybody we'll play'
The Alabama offense has evolved and grown from losing to Texas 34-24 in Week 2 to now as it prepares for Michigan, and coordinator Tommy Rees has been a big part of that.
The Longhorns overwhelmed the Crimson Tide up front and sacked quarterback Jalen Milroe 5 times. Alabama also faced Georgia’s elite group up front in the SEC championship and came away with a 27-24 victory while putting up just 306 total yards.
Speaking with the media Thursday ahead of a CFP matchup with Michigan, Rees said that the Wolverines’ defensive front is as good as it gets.
“Yeah, they’re very good up front,” Rees said. “I think that’s a strength of their team. They’re athletic. Their D-line coach, Mike Elston, was at Notre Dame for a long time. I worked with him. I played when he was a coach. He does a great job. You can see his coaching, the way they use their hands, they way they get off blocks. They’re athletic. They have power.
“Their front is really good. They have two linebackers. One of them has played a lot of football for them, so you can see his instincts and his experience show up. They both can run. Zero, their star nickel [graduate Mike Sainristil], is a disruptor out on the field.
“They present a great challenge. We see great fronts in our conference, but they’re right there, and they’re as good as anybody we’ll play.”
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Rees, a former Notre Dame quarterback, was the Irish’s quarterbacks coach during the 2019 season, when Michigan beat them down 45-14 at The Big House. It was a rainy night in Ann Arbor, and Notre Dame mustered up only 180 total yards.
Rees was asked how much better the Wolverines have even gotten until now, with Michigan possessing the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense.
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“Yeah, they were pretty good that year,” Rees said. “They had the two edge guys that were both high picks. They had the middle linebacker was a high pick. They had a really good star. It was a good system in terms of who was calling it.
“But look, I played against Michigan for four years in college. I’ve coached against them three — this will be my fourth time now — they’ve been a great program for a long time. They’ve had really good players for a long time. Schematically, they’ve had head coaches come in there and put their own twist on things and have success. I have a lot of respect for them.
“They’re very good on defense, and they have been for a while, and their personnel is strong and big and physical, and they play their style of football, and I think you see their guys in the back end and they’ve got good corners and good safeties that can challenge you on the perimeter.”
Rees went 1-3 against Michigan as a player, including throwing 3 touchdowns and 2 picks in an epic 35-31 U-M victory under the lights in 2011. Facing a strong Wolverine squad is nothing new for Rees.
“You look at Michigan, for me, my entire life, you look at Michigan on this pedestal, and I don’t think it’s any different,” he continued. “I think they have a great team, and they do a really nice job defensively. Jesse [Minter] is a really good coordinator and presents a lot of challenges for what you’re trying to go attack.”
