Why new Alabama football OC Tommy Rees is 'old man trapped in a young man's body' | Goodbread

When it comes to a running game that can impose its will on opponents, Tommy Rees does more than just preach. You want physical football? Alabama's new offensive coordinator doesn't just call the plays that grind a defense down for a second-half submission.

He lives them.

He breathes them.

And at the tender age of 30, his style might befit a coach twice his age.

"Tommy is like an old man trapped in a young man's body," Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea told The Tuscaloosa News.

Lea coached with Rees for four seasons at Notre Dame when the two were assistants under Brian Kelly, and has seen up close the way Rees' personality resonates with players.

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Rees was a quarterback at Notre Dame, but by all accounts, a football player first. A quarterback with a mentality more suited to a linebacker; aggressive and fearless and unafraid of contact at a position where the modern player is taught to slide feet first to avoid being tackled. We're talking about a guy whose best friend in college was an offensive guard. A guy known to intensify pickup basketball games by throwing an elbow or two and diving for loose balls. And a guy whose tendency is to test defenses up front first. What impact he'll have on Alabama's offense is months from a true unveiling. But if the unit embodies his personality, Alabama fans can expect to see him chest-bumping 300-pounders after touchdowns as often as any of his quarterbacks.

"He's got a nice way of calling upon his playing experience, but he's a trenches guy," Lea said. "The (offensive) line will feel his spirit and energy at a ground level. He rallies guys around his personality. And not afraid to confront where there needs to be confrontation."

That's a bit of a departure from the typical offensive coordinator, particularly the ones who were quarterbacks as players. They often invest so deeply in forming a symbiotic relationship with the quarterback that an offense's other 10 starters can feel more like O's on a chalkboard. That's unlikely to be the case with Rees, who will hit the practice field next month when the Crimson Tide begins spring drills.

It could make for both a refreshing and needed adjustment.

Last year's Alabama offense, while often explosive under the direction of a dynamic passing talent in Bryce Young, did not control the line of scrimmage with the command it had in years past. UA's rushing attack ranked squarely in the middle of the Southeastern Conference, and did little to soften opposing defenses to set up a second-half stampede.

Lea recalls just that from Rees' Fighting Irish offenses.

"At Notre Dame, multiple tight ends became our signature. As Tommy's able to put his personality into it, you'll see a physical run game with play-action passing," Lea said. "It's an offensive system that's able to separate in the third and fourth quarter after establishing a physical presence early."

That's a style that figures to meet the moment in Tuscaloosa.

Reach Chase Goodbread at cgoodbread@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter @chasegoodbread.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football: Tommy Rees 'old man trapped in a young man's body'