Plenty of Tommy Rees' teammates during his time at Notre Dame figured it'd only be a matter of time before he became a football coach. After completing a year as a graduate assistant at Northwestern, Rees will take the next step in his coaching career as an offensive assistant with the NFL's San Diego Chargers.
The Chargers announced Rees' hiring on Tuesday. He'll join three former Irish teammates in California: Offensive linemen Chris Watt and Trevor Robinson and linebacker Manti Te'o. Rees and Watt were roommates while at Notre Dame.
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Rees' father, Bill, worked for 16 years in the NFL as a scout and director of player personnel. He's currently Wake Forest's director of player personnel.
While at Notre Dame, Rees always came across as someone who'd be a football lifer after his playing days concluded.
"My dad always said -- you can like football, you can love football or you can live it," Rees said in 2013. "For me, it's about living it."
Rees received ringing endorsements as a future coach from a number of his former Irish teammates, too. Watt, ex-Notre Dame and Miami (Ohio) quarterback Andrew Hendrix and current Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Zack Martin were among those who praised Rees' for his eye for the game and football I.Q. Current Detroit Lions receiver T.J. Jones held a similar opinion.
"Tommy's a student of the game," Jones said in 2013. "Tommy knows everything there is to know about being a quarterback, being a receiver and knowing the protections. Tommy's as smart as it comes."