It’s been a rough start to the 2022 college football season for Notre Dame, as even in victory there were issues. The most notable of those issues was Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees yelling at one of his quarterbacks.
During Saturday’s win over Cal, Rees was seen getting into a very heated exchange with quarterback Drew Pyne. While talking over the phone with Pyne, Rees could be seen mouthing the words “Do you f-g job.”
Speaking to the media this week, Rees admitted that he wasn’t proud of the language he used with Pyne. But he feels that the relationship he has with Pyne is strong enough to the point that Pyne doesn’t get discouraged when he tries to light a fire under him.
“Certain guys need certain types of coaching in certain moments,” Rees said, via IrishIllustrated. “I’m not proud of the language I used, but I know with Drew, he seeks out and can handle tough coaching and the things that kind of light a fire and create a sense of urgency. In that moment we felt it was the right thing for the right player. He responded the way we counted on and we’re proud of him for that. Not proud of my language, but proud that Drew and I have a relationship where this is an immense amount of trust and he knows that when urgency needs to be reiterated, it can be and there is trust between us.”
Rees went further, explaining that Pyne was disappointed in that moment and Rees was looking for a way to keep him focused on the game.
“It was a little bit of a turning point and a breaking point for us,” Rees said. “He was disappointed. It was more trying to get him to kind of not bat an eye. If I’m lighting a fire under him, it doesn’t give him time to get down on himself, reflect about previous plays and to just keep things moving forward and keep doing our job for our team and understanding that he’s one of 11 offensively. If we have 10 guys doing theirs and we’re not, we got to make sure we keep things moving forward.”
All’s well that ends well though.
Drew Pyne went on to have one of the best games of his career, completing 74-percent of his passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-17 win over Cal.
It was Notre Dame’s first win of the season and their first since Marcus Freeman took over as head coach during the 2021 season.
Perhaps that exchange really did light a fire under Pyne.