Quick-hitters: Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees on Brian Kelly, tempo, Michael Mayer

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees was asked about everything from the tempo of his Fighting Irish offense to a possible over-reliance on junior tight end Michael Mayer to his ongoing relationship with former Irish coach and current LSU coach Brian Kelly during Tuesday’s media session.

Here’s what Rees had to say.

On when Notre Dame elects to play with tempo

“In regards to tempo, we’ve always felt like the ability to change tempo is the advantage. If you do one, teams know how to prepare for it. Say we play 70 reps of football Saturday. It was a little bit more, but you take out the kneel and you take out some plays. I think we had 16 tempo [plays]. We huddled 20 times, maybe 18. Called it from the sideline 14 times before the kneel down. So that’s 14 more calls. And then the ones where we are in between tempos. That’s about right. You’re probably going to look at 18-20% of what we do being [up tempo]. It’s week to week on an opponent.

“And to be perfectly transparent, when you’re up 30-7 at half you’re not going to play with tempo just to play with tempo. Some of that is schematic, like, ‘Hey, let’s not show some things that are easy to pick.’ People pick signals, and tempo is usually easy to pick. So let’s not show them in a game where we don’t need them. When you’re up like that, you’re certainly not looking to accelerate it that way.”

Join for only $10 to unlock premium access until the start of the 2023 football season

On not using many two-back sets the last two games

“It’s definitely schematic with how teams play that look. With North Carolina, they were pretty consistent with how teams played two backs. Same with Cal. The last couple weeks, not as much. There are mitigating factors personnel-wise why we would and why we wouldn’t. We want our five best [skill players] on the field. We have a pretty good advantage when we can have Chris [Tyree] and another back out there. Or Chris and [Mayer], whatever the makeup is. Every week, we look for those personnel groupings whether it’s three tight ends or two backs that gives us a competitive advantage, and we are going to try to use those. Week to week it varies schematically based on what you see on film.”

On his preferred speed of play calling

“I would rather have a blend of tempo that gives defenses the ability to not know how to react. When you’re at your best you can play on the ball in any personnel group, play fast. Slow it down and huddle. And then you can be somewhere in between. That’s really, in the perfect world, the ability to do it. The ability to play fast is something we like to do. We can get into a really good rhythm. Certainly. But we’ve had a lot of factors related to injuries that have limited some of that. We have to continue to build week to week to get guys in the right spots.”

On if Notre Dame is too reliant on Mayer

“I do not think we are using him too much. There are times when our eyes need to go somewhere else. Guys are going to give attention to Michael Mayer. We have to be able to react and see it and understand it. We have good players elsewhere.”

On who he looks to for advice outside the Notre Dame program

“It’s probably harder for me because a lot of the guys are still coaching. Nick Sirianni, I talk to a good amount. During the season we keep in touch. Shane Steichen is there calling it. I keep in touch there. A guy I’ve formed a pretty solid relationship with is Joe Brady over the last couple years. We keep in touch.

“But again, in season, it’s harder. A lot of the offseason projects and conversations, that’s where a lot of growth happens. Guys send encouraging messages back and forth or maybe a clip here or there. I feel like we have a good network. There are a lot of guys I know I can lean on and trust. There have been some things this year we’ve discussed and bounced off with that group. A lot of people that care.”

On his relationship with Brian Kelly

“It comes from a place of love, you know? The best thing he has said is, ‘Hey, you don’t need my help with calling it. You’re good in that department. I know there are a lot of experts out there, but keep doing it.’ We’ve known each other a long time. We’ve had a close relationship for a long time. I appreciate it. But I think the offseason is probably the best time for some of those bigger conversations.”