One of Notre Dame’s coordinators is a nominee for the Broyles Award, and surprisingly it’s not defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman. Instead, it’s offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Freeman was a finalist for the award last year at Cincinnati, but Rees is the only Notre Dame assistant to make the initial cut for the award a year later.
In his second year as offensive coordinator for the Irish, Rees could be seen as somewhat of a surprise inclusion in the nominee list, given the struggles the Notre Dame offense faced earlier in the season. Rees’s ability to pivot in mid-season, however, is an excellent display of coaching.