This past draft was a great weekend for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame had 8 players drafted total which was second only to LSU. Zack Martin went on the first night. The second night saw four players (Stephon Tuitt, Troy Niklas, Louis Nix, and Chris Watt) all come off the board in the 2nd and 3rd round. Then in the late rounds on the final day, Prince Shembo got the call from Atlanta, Bennett Jackson got picked by the Giants, and TJ Jones will join Golden Tate and Theo Riddick in Detroit.
It did not stop there. Five former Irish players signed free agent contracts. George Atkinson signed with Oakland, Carlo Calabrese with Cleveland, Dan Fox with the Giants, Kona Schwenke with Kansas City, but the most surprising one in many eyes was Tommy Rees with the Washington Redskins.
Rees was definitely the most debated quarterback I can ever remember. He was loved by many for his heart and toughness, but disliked by many for his lack of ability. I always liked the kid because I had no doubt he gave all he had. I knew he wasn't the most talented quarterback Notre Dame ever had, but he left nothing out there.
Now here he is signing a free agent deal with the Redskins. It will definitely be tough for him to make the squad. RG III is going nowhere and Kirk Cousins has proven to be a quality back up. Colt McCoy is currently the third quarterback and he was a starter for Cleveland before.
It seems impossible for him with those guys there. However, a door might open for him if Cousins gets traded and that definitely is a strong possibility. But if there is anything I learned about him over the years is to not count him out. Here is a kid who was on a roster with Dayne Crist, Andrew Hendrix, and Everett Golson. On paper, Rees was the least talented but yet all these guys were watching him from the sidelines.
I just want to wish him luck and if he doesn't make it, I hope considers coming back to South Bend as a Grad assistant.
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