Blue and Gold Illustrated

Preseason 2012

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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ball player, learn from his mistake, keep his head down and continue working hard. For junior quarterback Tommy Rees, the same is true. Unlike Calabrese, however, Rees' time as a significant contributor on the football field for the Fighting Irish might be over. By now, most Notre Dame fans F or senior inside linebacker Carlo Calabrese, it was an op- portunity to re-evaluate what it means to be a Notre Dame foot- to nothing more than an underage drinking citation for Rees quickly es- calated, which eventually prompted Kelly to suspend both of them for the Sept. 1 season opener against Navy in Ireland. "I've thought a lot about the inci- know what happened on May 3. Rees and Calabrese were arrested at an off- campus party after panic trumped common sense. When police first ar- rived, an underage Rees attempted to flee, tangled with officers, was pepper-sprayed and eventually taken into custody. Meanwhile, Calabrese verbally threatened officers and was charged with intimidation. What would have likely amounted dent and it's something I've moved past and gotten over," Rees said Aug. 11 in his first appearance in front of the media since the arrest. "The kind of lack of judgment is something that I don't find indicative of my char- acter. I'm just trying to move forward, which I have." Moving forward for the time being for Rees means helping fellow quar- terbacks Everett Golson and Andrew Hendrix prepare to take his place. "Having confidence in my ability BY WES MORGAN Second Chance? It's unclear if junior Tommy Rees will get another shot at the QB job and understanding helps with that. I'm confident that I can go out there and play, and play at a high level. Helping those guys is something that anybody on this team would do when faced with the same situation. We have a bunch of selfless guys that just care about Notre Dame football and winning games. Right now, helping those two guys get ready for the first week is what my responsibility is." But what are the consequences for the program as a whole? Rees' approval rating among Fight- ing Irish fans had already plummeted before his arrest. Once a hero for guid- ing Notre Dame to four straight victo- ries as a freshman stand-in for injured 22 PRESEASON 2012 Rees, who ranks eighth all time in school history in passing yards (3,977) and first in completion per- centage (64.2) after 16 career starts, has been suspended for the Sept. 1 season opener against Navy in Ireland. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED

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