BEREA — Tommy Rees can still remember what it was like the first time he was out on the Cleveland Browns’ practice fields.
“Yeah, shagging Phil Dawson’s kicks and out here catching for the quarterbacks and got my first paycheck and all that,” Rees, the new Browns tight end coach/pass game specialist, recalled at the end of minicamp. “So I think my mom still has it somewhere actually, but it’s been a long time. There’s a lot kind of still feels the same.”
Rees was a 14-year-old teenager who was on the cusp of his own football breakthrough at that time. His father, Bill, was the Director of Player Personnel/College Scouting under general manager Phil Savage from 2004-08.
For the younger Rees, it was an opportunity to, as he said, get his “first paycheck.” It was also a chance to get his first taste of the NFL life.
“I was a ball boy,” Rees said. “I worked in the equipment room. A lot of the same faces are still there. Folded a lot of towels, brushed down the footballs and shagged kicks. It was a good life when you’re 14. There’s worse things to do.”
Browns pass game specialist/tight ends coach Tommy Rees during a workout in Phase II of the offseason program May 1 in Berea.
There’s worse things to do as well when it comes to Rees’ journey since those days. He played in 45 games, including 30 starts, at quarterback for Notre Dame from 2010-13 before getting an NFL tryout in Washington.
Once Rees put the playing career behind him and turned his attention to coaching, he took a rocket ship up the ranks. Four years after his final game at Notre Dame, he returned in 2017 as the quarterbacks coach before being elevated to offensive coordinator in 2020.
Rees spent three years as the Fighting Irish’s offensive coordinator, two of those under coach Brian Kelly and one under Marcus Freemen. However, it was a call from arguably…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/former-browns-ball-boy-tommy-100249123.html
Author : Akron Beacon Journal
Publish date : 2024-06-23 10:02:49
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