Rockne's Roundtable

OUTLOOK: Greg McElroy's leadership and experience earned him the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback job in 2009, but his poise under fire and winning mentality were key in leading Alabama to the school's 13th national championship ... was the MVP of the 2009 SEC Championship Game ... has played in 35 games in his UA career, making 27 starts, completing 436-of-658 (66.3percent) passes for 5,691 yards and 39 touchdowns ... a cerebral quarterback with excellent football knowledge and all of the intangibles wanted in a starting quarterback ... 2010 ESPN/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year and first-team Academic All-American ... 2010 NCAA Top VIII honoree ... finalist for the Wooden Citizenship Cup ... finished his career with a 24-3 record as a starting quarterback at Alabama for an .889 winning percentage ... threw just 10 interceptions in 658 career attempts or for one every 65.8 attempts, which is the best mark in school and SEC history ... finished sixth in career pass attempts (658), third in career completions (436), first in completion percentage (66.3), fourth in yards (5,691) and third in touchdowns (39) ... was named the winner of the Anson Mount Scholar-Athlete Award by Playboy, who will donate $5,000 to the University of Alabama's general scholarship fund in McElroy's name ,,, shared the 2009 Dixie Howell Memorial Most Valuable Player of the A-Day Game Award by throwing for 189 yards and two touchdowns ... won the 2009 Sylvester Croom Commitment to Excellence Award following spring drills ... a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection ... won the 2010 Paul W. Bryant Student-Athlete Award, which honors a student-athlete for academic, athletic and community achievements ... graduated in the summer of 2009 with 3.86 grade-point average in business marketing, completing his undergraduate degree in just three years ... finished his master's degree in sports administration in December of 2010 with a perfect 4.0 gpa ... was a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship.

TSull:

I am prepared for that reality and I'm also prepared to be pissed off. You can also take away a team's hope before the kickoff with status quo.

Carrer Statistics:

369 completions
575 attempts
32 TD passes
22 Interceptions
17 sacks

43 rushing attempts
-58 yards rushing

The passing stats might get you 9-3 with a great defense. The rushing stats will destroy your hope and chance for success, particularly in close games.

I always viewed him as a person that was recruited to be a backup. In my opinion, TR is the best damn back up in the country. That's not a bad thing.

Jimbo

I don't necessarily disagree with you. I think there is a case to be made for TR, but I'm not going to make it. You have to believe in what you're selling, and in this case I'm not sure I do. Plus, as you said, your mind is made up.

I agree that if the team doesn't want Tommy, then that would destroy morale, as well. It works both ways. However, I highly doubt these guys have an agenda. I'm sure they want the best guy to play. If it's at least close, I think a coach has some margin for selecting someone else; however, the onus is on the other guys to at least make it close.

It's obvious that Rees is not a championship QB.

I'm fairly certain nobody has a handle on the qb situation better than Coach Kelly and his staff.

If they (the coaching staff) were to announce Tommy Rees as the starter, you believe they are deaf, dumb, and blind or do you think they are starting the QB that gives them the best chance to win?

At the end of the day if nobody can supplant Rees as the starter, it definitely isn't Rees' fault.

I for one think it will come down Hendrix or Golson

I will paraphrase a thread I started after the FSU Bowl fiasco: I am a big supporter of Brian Kelly. I was very excited when he came aboard and still believe very strongly that he knows what he is doing. But if Tommy Rees is our starter again next year, I will no longer hold Brian Kelly in high regard as he will have proved to me that he is not the coach I currently perceive him to be. If he starts Rees, in my humble opinion, he is coaching scared and limiting his own success, and that is not the coach I am looking for at Notre Dame. It will be at that point that I begin mentally looking for the next hopeful coaching candidate because the writing will be most assuredly be on the wall.

All that being said, I desperately hope that BK and his staff will understand that it is better to prepare a kid who can take us to a winning level than to keep winning 7-8 games in an effort to save your job.

IrishWon

If Rees outplays the other 3 then play him. He has weaknesses as do all QB's.

Sorry to single you out, because there are many who share this same opinion, but I just don't understand this logic.

Unless you think BK has some sort of evil agenda, why would he not play the QB that gives him the best chance to win? I'll bet he wants to win as badly (probably even more so) as we all do.

I don't mean to come down hard, as I have a hard time envisioning TR as "the guy", as well. However, willing to at least admit that I have only a miniscule fraction of the knowledge as this staff. More importantly, we only have very limited exposure to the other competitors. You're making an assumption that we have someone capable of beating out Rees. One would think so, but we honestly cannot say.

To speak in such absolutes is a bit silly if you ask me. And to completely change your stance on BK's ability to coach, based on TR winning the QB competition (and let's be honest he'll have won, if he's named starter) is fickle at best. I'm glad Swarbrick doesn't consult with these "expert" boards (or any others) when making decisions.

We all know we were a BCS team at every position last year except the most important one...QB.

Uhm, not so much.