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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 3, 2011

Tommy Rees

South Florida Â– 23
Notre Dame - 20

Q. Tommy, can you talk about this entire game for you guys? How are the emotions right now?
TOMMY REES: Not very good. Today was probably the most strange game probably anybody has ever been a part of. Hats off to USF. They came out and played a good game. They were out here competing from the first snap. You know, we can't think too much about how the situation went down, more just look how we can improve.

Q. Where do you guys move forward? What do you take away from this game?
TOMMY REES: It's definitely a learning experience because you've got to move forward. We've got Michigan next week. So tomorrow this has got to be behind us and just got to look forward to the next game.

Q. Two weeks ago Dayne was announced as the starter. Second half of the first game you're in there. How do you approach that? How do you kind of keep it together and get out there?
TOMMY REES: You know, throughout practice you've just got to keep competing and preparing like you're going to get in there and you're going to be the guy. All week both of us competed and prepared like we were going to play, and you've just got to keep your head about you during the week and if there's an opportunity when you're called upon, be ready.

Q. When did they tell you, at halftime right before you went on the field?
TOMMY REES: No, I mean, they told us when the coaches came over and they pulled us aside and let us know. We just went from there.

Q. Did Dayne say anything to you?
TOMMY REES: Yeah, you guys know how Dayne is. He's been supportive of me from day one, so he was there on the sideline and he was here in the locker room talking me through stuff, and he was great.

Q. When you watch him struggle in the first half what's going through your mind? You've got to be ready no matter what because there could be an injury, but were you a little more anxious then?
TOMMY REES: You know, I try to support him as much as possible. I don't try to think about my opportunities. Obviously I'm prepared and I'm ready to go if my number is called. But throughout the whole first half him and I were talking and I was trying to help him out with some of the things that were going on on the field. And you know, the first half a lot of things went wrong, but I'm proud of how the guys bounced back.

Q. How do you guys rebound from that? Can you explain why there were so many mental mistakes?
TOMMY REES: I really don't know what was going on. We were practicing really well and things were going really well, and a few plays here or there, and obviously the outcome speaks for itself.

Q. Do you feel the two-hour delay helped you guys?
TOMMY REES: Not only that, our guys stayed focused, our coaches did a great job of keeping us in the game. When we went out there after the first time, after the first delay after halftime, really our whole fan base was still here pretty much, and that was awesome to see. I felt like coming out of that we had the advantage with all the excitement and the fans, and it was a pretty cool atmosphere actually.

Q. Not knowing if you'll be the starter for next week, how do you approach that?
TOMMY REES: Yeah, nothing really changes. Dayne and I both prepare like we're going to be the guy, so not much changes for me. It's up to the coaches, and I'll be ready to go and I'll prepare like I'm going to play, and we'll see what happens.

Q. When you got the news two weeks ago you weren't going to be starting, what was your initial reaction? Did you call your parents, talk to Dayne?
TOMMY REES: Obviously I was disappointed first and foremost. Everyone wants to be the guy, but the first thing I did is I found Dayne, talked to him, told him I supported him 100 percent. And we're really close, so there was really no bitter feeling towards him, it was just more disappointed that I wasn't the guy. But you know, yeah, first guy I went and talked to was Dayne.

Q. And your mindset going on the field during the rest of the practices, you felt the same way as before?
TOMMY REES: Yeah, if you're a competitor and you want to be the guy, just like last year, you never know when you're going to be called and you've got to be ready to go because you've got all your teammates counting on you and you can't let them down.

Q. How much did last year prepare you for this?
TOMMY REES: I mean, completely. Getting plenty of time and plenty of experience has put me in a good spot.

Q. At what point did you find out you were going to go in?
TOMMY REES: Pretty soon when we got in the coaches came and talked to Dayne and I, just like you normally do and let us know and we went from there.

Q. How did you prepare for that? Were you antsy at all to get out there?
TOMMY REES: Anxious. You know, just play a half football. I kind of knew what to expect, but it was a long halftime, but I thought we did a good job of staying focused and come out ready to play.

Q. How weird was this day?
TOMMY REES: I mean, unlike any other game we've been a part of, but like I said before, USF played a great game, and how the game shook out, there's no excuse for the weather and all that. USF did a good job.

Q. Coach did a great job of making the quarterback not battle distractions during the preseason. How do you make sure it's not a distraction leading up to Michigan?
TOMMY REES: We have no choice. The quarterback is the leader, and you can't have a distraction like that take over the team. It's a long season, and we can't let that get a hold of us.

Q. Did the weather have any effect on the game plan in the second half?
TOMMY REES: Not really. We didn't think the weather -- it didn't really affect us too bad. It wasn't pouring rain or anything like that, so we just stayed with our game plan.

Q. Are you a guy that is much better when the game is out there like once you get on the field maybe versus practice situation? You seem to just rise to the occasion when you're out there?
TOMMY REES: I'm not really sure. When game time comes I like to think I'm prepared, and I'm prepared through how I've practiced. I don't know, but a game is a lot different than practice in my opinion. Going out there -- I don't know how to answer that question to be honest. I practice hard and I practice like I'm going to play the game, and when the game comes, you've just got to be ready to make plays.

Q. (Inaudible.)
TOMMY REES: Obviously just getting the mental aspect of it down, not turning the ball over, and we've just got to hit the film room and prepare for Michigan and put this one behind us.

Q. I know this is a tough one to answer because you really can't, but do you think you should be the starter next week?
TOMMY REES: I really don't have a comment. We'll let the coaches decide that. It's up to them.

Q. Were you surprised at the change?
TOMMY REES: You know, not surprised but not -- I wasn't necessarily expecting it. Obviously we had our fair share of problems in the first half, but I was just prepared and ready to go, and if my number was called, I would be ready to go. Not surprised, not expecting it, either, but somewhere in between.

Q. Which coach told you?
TOMMY REES: Coach Kelly came in and told us.

Q. What did you do during the two hours?
TOMMY REES: Just focused on the game, focused on football, not letting any distractions occur and just mentally get prepared to go out there.

Q. Did you talk about it or watch film or --
TOMMY REES: We were just -- some of us talked about it. We had so much time, a lot of different things went on during that time period.

Q. How weird is that, though, for you because you hadn't played yet? You're waiting to go in?
TOMMY REES: Yeah, it's a little different. You almost treat it like the start of the game. You have that much time before the start of a game and that was kind of my mindset. I'm like, I have a half of football to play, so let's go out there play just like before a game.

Q. They only gave you like four minutes to warm up once you got out there. Was there enough time?
TOMMY REES: No, it was fine. No complaints with how it was handled. Like I said before, it's not an excuse or anything like that, it's just USF played a good game.

Q. You've worked with Tyler Eifert a lot down the stretch. What did you see from him that he was getting open, and how much confidence do you have in him?
TOMMY REES: I mean, he's a great player. He's a big target, athletic, great hands. All of our guys out there, T.J., Theo, Cierre, Mike, Toma, Goody, everyone that was out there I feel comfortable with, so if we get a match-up that we like or if we get a look that we like, it doesn't really matter who it is, we can count on them to get open. Tyler stepped up and he played extremely well down the stretch for us.

Q. When the starter was the season for announced, I'm sure you figured you'd get your opportunity at some point, but you probably weren't expecting it to be two quarters into the season.
TOMMY REES: Right. It was a tough situation. Obviously I wanted to be named the starter, but I had to keep focused and prepare well during practice. I knew it's a long season, your time is going to come, and I didn't know when it was going to come, but I knew I had to be prepared for when it did, so I just took it like that.

Q. How did you react to the news of Dayne being starter for the first game?
TOMMY REES: Like I said, I mean, I was obviously disappointed. Everyone wants to be the starting quarterback. But as soon as we found out, I went up to Dayne and told him I'm behind him 100 percent, I'm not going to hang my head and be that guy. I'm going to come out here every day ready to work and push him to be better and he's going to push me, and I told him I was 100 percent behind him. We're so close that there was really no hard feelings or anything like that.

Q. And then in the second half did he communicate with you?
TOMMY REES: Yeah, absolutely. Like I said before, you guys all know how Dayne is. He's one-of-a-kind guy. He came up to me, and having his support after that was huge.

Q. What are you anticipating now as you go into next week? Do you feel like you're the starter now?
TOMMY REES: To be honest I'll just let the coaches decide. I don't have any say. Whatever they decide, I'll be 100 percent behind. If it's my way or his, I'm here for the team and will prepare as if I've got to be out there.

Q. When you came here did you know all about the history of Notre Dame?
TOMMY REES: I knew how big Notre Dame football was and all that, but I wasn't a fan and it wasn't a huge thing for me. Once I got here and found out what it's really about, I was really happy to be a part of it.

Q. Do you think teams are intimidated by the aura or do you think that's something from the past?
TOMMY REES: I think everyone gets up to play Notre Dame. Everyone gives it their best shot, and that's something we've got to be ready for on a week-to-week basis.

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