For the Champs Sports Bowl at the end of this month in Florida, Tommy Rees will start at quarterback. Notre Dame will be playing Florida State. Coach Brian Kelly said that since Dayne Crist’s request for his release, the only real options for replacement are Rees and Andrew Hendrix.
Crist has really been through the ringer. He sustained two injuries at Notre Dame, one of which ripped his patella tendon in his game a year ago against Tulsa. He also got a knee injury two years ago when playing against Washington State. It was originally anticipated that Crist would be the starter for all 13 games but what happened ultimately was that Crist started just one half against South Florida and thereafter endured a 23-20 loss.
When Crist played against USC (instead of Rees) it was him who took the team to the goal line, but thereafter a snap was returned 80 yards for a touchdown. So it didn’t exactly hit the news headlines that he was leaving, although perhaps there is a somewhat sad sentiment in the air as he was very popular among his teammates.
