Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees Talks Offensive Improvement, Red Zone Struggles, Braden Lenzy, More

Here are a few of the comments from Rees:

On Progress vs. UNLV

"I feel like more guys consistently did what we were asking them to do. More times than not we had 11 guys moving in the right direction. We ran the ball well. We were pretty good on third down. I think our average to go was 3rd-and-three and a half, which is something we can hang our hat on."

On Red Zone Issues

"Timing wise in the red area we were a little off pass game. We had the one to Mike that got reviewed. We had one later, we get him one-on-one the backside with a corner, we like that matchup, we just have to execute a couple of those plays, so certainly have to improve there."

"I think we were really good the first five weeks .... We were scoring touchdowns. We got a good look to Mike (Mayer) there on the first one, nine times out of ten that's a touchdown. Two plays in a row down going the other way towards the tunnel we got a matchup we like on a safety with Tobias (Merriweather), we got a matchup on a corner we like on drop eight with Mike, we just all have to do our part to execute those plays."

On Braden Lenzy

"His maturity level has really taken a step up. He's become more of a guy that is dependable and guys can count on. The way he communicates and the way he is able to talk to the quarterbacks, talk to the younger players, you want to see that from a guy who has been in the program for five years."

On The Syracuse Defense

"Coach (Tony) White does a heck of a job as a defensive coordinator. They give you a lot of different looks, a lot of movement. They're a veteran defense, those linebackers are really good players. It's a unique structure with what they do. A lot of movement up front, a lot of slanting, a lot of angle, a lot of team speed .... They do a really nice job, and they've done a nice job. We played them in 2020, and we remember watching and remember thinking these guys are dialed in, and now they're three years into it."