Quick hitters: Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees reviews Irish 2023 offensive class

Notre Dame offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees met with the media on National Signing Day to discuss the group of players he helped land on Wednesday. The comments below are the key points from his press conference.

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On quarterback recruiting, landing Kenny Minchey

“Quarterback recruiting is an imperfect science. We’re thrilled to have Kenny and his family be a part of Notre Dame. We went into the offseason last year with a group of guys we were interested in, and Kenny had camped with us (in June of 2021), so there was a relationship that was built there early on.

“The ecosystem of the quarterback room is very important to us. That’s something we’re trying to uphold. We didn’t want to just add a guy to add a guy … We wanted to bring someone in who has the intangibles and physical traits to compete here and be the guy. That’s what we found in Kenny.

“The more time we’ve spent with him and his family, the more we know and believe he’s the right guy to lead this class. He’s a guy we’ll look to in the future as someone who can lead our program. He’s a football junkie, which we love.”

On the Notre Dame offensive line class

“The group of five we got personify what Coach Hiestand is looking for in an offensive line class and as individuals … You get around each guy and the families, and you start to get a sense of what it means to be an offensive lineman at Notre Dame … You look at the mental makeup of these five and what they’re about, and they fall right into what we’re trying to build as a culture in that room. They’re the right kind of guys for Coach (Hiestand). We’re excited to get them here. There’s a nice blend of the Midwest and reaching areas in North Carolina.”

On the wide receiver class

“When you look at (Jaden) Greathouse and Reek (Rico Flores), they’re pretty polished. Physically — from a strength standpoint — they can come in and compete. They understand the nuance of running routes and have a natural feel for it. You look at Braylon (James), who is like Tobias (Merriweather) — long, rangy and can run. He has a great frame where you can tell he can add 10 or 15 more pounds and be a physical presence on the outside and has the speed to play out there. And with KK (Kaleb Smith) — the smoothness and speed with which he plays is very deceiving. You watch his senior stuff, and he really slipped through the cracks. Coach Stuckey did an unbelievable job of having a relationship with him from his previous stop and was able to keep that going. There’s a great blend of polish, upside, size and speed.”

On running back signee Jeremiyah Love

“Jeremiyah was a huge priority. There’s a lot he can do. We have a really good running back room right now, but that doesn’t mean Jeremiyah can’t play early because he’s a guy who can help you in other assets of the game. He has a trait that Coach Freeman talked about, and that’s speed. We’re very eager to add that. He’s showed the ability to play on the outside and in the backfield …  He’s someone who was critical to this class because of his speed, versatility and because he’s the right kid to come into the room and compete and work hard.”

On tight end signee Cooper Flanagan

“He’s probably the one who doesn’t get talked about enough. The evaluation process doesn’t stop for us after they commit. During his senior year, we were talking to some people out there who we trust, and (they said) Cooper Flanagan is the best player in the Bay Area. That was the consensus with the people we know and trust out there.

“The thing about Coop is that he’s asked to play like a real tight end; he’s not split out the whole time. His hand is in the dirt, blocking a defensive end. He’ll work a combination with a tackle and splits out and works a real route tree. Exactly what he does translates to how he’s going to be asked to be utilized here at Notre Dame. Yeah, he’s a freshman tight end, but we’ve had freshman tight ends play for us. He knows how to do the things that are hard for young players.”