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UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 17, 2011

Tommy Rees

MICHIGAN STATE Â– 13
NOTRE DAME - 31

TOMMY REES: Especially being a full team effort. Defense played awesome. Offense made plays and special teams did a great job. So having this full team win, seeing a win in the win column, it's a great feeling.

Q. (Off microphone)
TOMMY REES: We've always had chemistry. T.J., Theo did a great job. I was telling everyone in there, even the running backs, they did awesome, getting themselves open and making good options for us.

Q. Could you say just the negative, not to get down, how do they actually maintain that level of (indiscernible)?
TOMMY REES: I think the group of guys we have, no one on this team was getting down or feeling bad. I think the leadership throughout the whole the team, the coaches, the players, everyone did a great job.

Q. Talk about the balance off the pass. Two running backs and couple of receivers.
TOMMY REES: The offensive line did a great job. Provided us with a great running game, protection to get the ball out on the perimeter. Starts with them. And then running backs running hard and receivers getting open and just my job getting the ball to them.

Q. Considering all the turnovers in the first couple of games, how were you able to overcome that in the first quarter?
TOMMY REES: Obviously we had a couple in the first half. And those are on me. There's ways I need to keep getting better, improve. And they did great all week, the whole season staying positive. We know we can go out there and play well. It's a matter of putting everything together.

Q. Talk about the practice on Wednesday and what effects that had --
TOMMY REES: I think almost all the practices we've had, everyone is understanding the preparation throughout the week and how that translates into the game. And we had a couple of periods that were tougher. Coaches getting after us. Guys responded great and I think it helped a lot.

Q. Talk about just the chemistry.
TOMMY REES: T.J. and I came in together a couple of springs together. We've been roommates. We have a great chemistry out there. I'm completely confident in his abilities of getting the job done.
He made a huge play on third down to set up his touchdown. And without him catching that quick slant, we're not in that position.
Just building the confidence with each other; them getting a little more used to how I'm playing, and me the same way. And I think we've done a really good job staying on the same page.

Q. Coach said you had a conversation after the interception. Talk about that conversation.
TOMMY REES: Right. I knew the mistake I made. And I knew exactly what was going on. It's just you gotta eliminate those mistakes. You can't have them happen again. And I felt like we did a good job from that point on, taking care of the ball, taking what the defense gave us, not trying to force too many things. And Coach and I had a good dialogue after that and I just came out firing from there.

Q. Tommy, talk about managing the game. From the first half to the last half, seemed like you may have made some mistakes, but you were always conscious of managing the game.
TOMMY REES: Right. Especially playing with the lead there, you have to do a good job taking care of the ball, not putting your defense in tough situations. And when we get in early leads like that, staying consistent, not getting complacent and knowing that you need to keep going and keep putting points on the board. The quarterback, you've got to be the leader out there and stay calm, do what you can to help your team win.

Q. Were you ready to bleed the clock all the way down the last half of the fourth quarter? Did you hear the clock in your mind as to what you wanted to get it down to?
TOMMY REES: Yeah. We still wanted to go out there and put some points on the board. Helping our defense out, helping our whole team out by killing some of the clock and eliminating some of the time they had to go down and score and the whole offense was conscious of that. And Coach did a good job letting us know the situation we were in.

Q. How much easier does it make the game for you with the running game right away?
TOMMY REES: It helps a lot. It keeps the defense on their toes, not having to go out there and throw it a lot. Like I said, it all starts with the offensive line. They did an awesome job, not only protecting me, but providing running lanes. Our running backs are running so hard, and they're understanding what they need to do. And it's fun having the whole offense click like that.

Q. Brian mentioned the chemistry you're starting to develop with some of the other receivers. Can you talk about that?
TOMMY REES: I think that just comes throughout the week of preparation, just getting on the same page as them. Just comes with more and more experience.

Q. Do you feel like you guys handled it better?
TOMMY REES: I think in the past we've handled them well. But maybe greater volume, in the red zone and stuff like that where you can't have them.
But the guys all through games and especially they handled them well and bounced back and knew what we needed to go out and do.

Q. What's the key to that?
TOMMY REES: Just staying positive. It's just one play you gotta go out there, you gotta have a short-term memory and keeping the guys up and staying positive throughout the game.

Q. (Off microphone)?
TOMMY REES: I just think getting the win helps a lot of guys. We've been confident and we've had times when we've been down on ourselves, but getting back on the winning track, on the right track, it helps us a lot going forward.

Q. With the physical practice, more so than any other time Brian's been here, what does that do for you?
TOMMY REES: I think it helps the guys just throughout the week. And in tough situations getting that extra yard we need and getting those hard yards on third down and third and short, and I thought the coaches did a great job handling that.

Q. Also help release the frustration to go out there?
TOMMY REES: Yeah, maybe a little bit. But it paid off.

Q. Coach said you managed the game well. So when he says that, what does that mean to you?
TOMMY REES: As long as we get the win, I don't care what words he uses to describe the game. I thought we were playing with the lead. We had help from special teams. And just limiting mistakes and understanding what the defense is doing and how to take advantage of it. Getting the win is all that matters.

Q. What was that call?
TOMMY REES: We had a couple of different things going on, on that play, frontside and backside. And they came up and pressed T.J.
When that happened, we worked all week keeping our guys deep and getting over the top. He did a great job being a big play guy for us. And can't say enough for how well he got opened and I just gotta put the ball on him.

Q. (Off microphone)?
TOMMY REES: Yeah. You know, it hurts, but not as bad as people think. Obviously you don't see it coming and all that.
But I was fine. I was more frustrated with how it went down than anything, just losing the ball and not having great ball security on that hit. But you pop right back up. And I don't even feel it now. So it's good.

Q. It appears that Tyler is kind of your target on third down. Almost did it three times today. Twice on one drive. What is it about third down in particular that makes him so valuable?
TOMMY REES: I think he does just a great job providing a mismatch for us. People think about Floyd on third down or something else. But Tyler is a hard matchup. He's big. He's athletic. He does a great job getting open. We have such a good confidence and chemistry with one another that he's a great guy to have on third down.

Q. Are you surprised that Lynch had the impact that he did today?
TOMMY REES: To be honest, I didn't see much of the defense. I'm not surprised. I mean, since the day he's walked on campus, he's been a good player. I think he'll just continue to grow. And obviously he helped out a lot.

Q. What do you see from Robert Blanton; he had a great day today? In practice --
TOMMY REES: He's the kind of the guy you don't want to throw to all the time. He has a knack for making big plays. He's a big physical corner, can do a lot of things on the perimeter. That's what we expect from him. He's a great player.

Q. People make so much out of (indiscernible)?
TOMMY REES: I think probably. Throughout the whole process, we've been at each other's backs the whole time. There's never been a moment of bad blood or bad chemistry. He helped me, I helped him, and we both had team goals in mind. So I think maybe a little bit. But at the end of the day we're there for each other to help each other out.

Q. What do you think is the biggest thing you learned?
TOMMY REES: I think just growing within the offense and knowing the different situations of the game and just learning how to prepare week-to-week, and that's something I've got to continue to get better at.

Q. Does your preparation change?
TOMMY REES: Not really. You gotta come out to practice every day. Your reps are a little different and all that. But you come out with the same work ethic every day, and you've got to be focused no matter what happens because you never know when your time is going to be. And you gotta try to make the most of your opportunities.

Q. (Off microphone)?
TOMMY REES: You know, I love playing at home. I love being here with our fans and our crowd. They did a great job last week traveling and giving us support. And obviously last week was a pretty awesome atmosphere and the same for today. Playing at Notre Dame Stadium is a privilege. A lot of fun.

Q. Let's talk about your learning curve. And when you threw that interception you said you knew it right away. Tell us about that.
TOMMY REES: It comes with a week of preparation. We knew what they were doing. And I knew I shouldn't have thrown it there, obviously, and it's just something I would like to have back.
But going forward I think we took advantage of that coverage they were giving us and just working towards it. And I knew the minute I let go of the ball I knew I couldn't throw the ball there.

Q. (Off microphone)?
TOMMY REES: I think we'll enjoy it. But tomorrow's, we gotta get back to work and get prepared for next week. We'll enjoy it for now and everyone understands we've got to keep moving forward and keep winning games. And it's something we can enjoy for sure.

Q. Talk about the running that really got the team going.
TOMMY REES: I mean, that was kind of focused throughout the week. Spread running. Starts the offensive line and the running backs ran hard and they did a great job of providing a great running game today.

Q. (Off microphone)?
TOMMY REES: It does. Keeps the defense on their toes and forces them to add people in the boxes. With the guys we have on the perimeter, you got a lot of mismatches out there.

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