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Notre Dame football: Kelly puts faith in youth

First-year players Rees, Wood take command of offense

November 12, 2010|By ERIC HANSEN, Tribune Staff Writer
(Page 2 of 2)

“I can’t see a situation where Andrew would play in the game,” Kelly said Thursday night. “It would have to be Army (Nov. 20) or USC (Nov. 27). He needs another (week).”

Hendrix, promoted from the scout team during the bye last week, will have an active role on the sideline, Kelly said, in terms of being asked to recognize and identify different situations that Rees is going through in the game.

“You can see the athleticism of an Andrew Hendrix,” Kelly said, “but it's hard to put it all together right now, because he has a very, very shallow base of what we want to accomplish.”

Rees’ own knowledge base has been enhanced by his football family. Father Bill, for example, has been a coach and administrator on the college and pro levels for decades.

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Still, when spring practice ended the early-enrollee was decidedly the No. 3 option, with a very real chance of sliding all the way to 5 when Hendrix and fellow freshman Luke Massa arrived in June.

But Rees addressed Kelly’s biggest concern over the summer - physical strength - and he buried himself in the playbook when he wasn’t bulking up in the weight room.

“I wasn’t that discouraged,” he said of his post-spring status. “I felt pretty confident. I just had to keep pushing forward and keep working hard, and it would all pay off.”

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