Lake Forest's Rees chooses the Irish

Lake Forest is led by standout quarterback Tommy Rees.
(Joe Shuman/For the News-Sun)

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Tommy Rees might not be the most sought-after quarterback in the Chicago area, but he doesn’t lack the skills needed to compete at the Division I level. Recent scholarship offers from major programs are a sign of that.

Rees, a 6-3, 198-pound senior-to-be at Lake Forest, ended an intensifying recruiting process Tuesday by giving Notre Dame an oral commitment.

‘‘I felt comfortable with [Notre Dame],’’ Rees said. ‘‘I like the coaches a lot. I’ll get a good education ... and the football tradition is something that’s important to me.’’

Rees chose the Irish over Tennessee, Stanford, Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Miami of Ohio. Ohio State also expressed interest in Rees but offered Wheaton North quarterback Taylor Graham a scholarship instead.

‘‘He’s got a good arm and he’s a good athlete,’’ recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said. ‘‘He fits in perfectly with a pro-style offense like Notre Dame has.’’

Rees’ stock has soared in the last month, Lemming said. That included receiving a scholarship offer from Tennessee a week and a half ago.

‘‘He’s the type of kid who can really develop into something, and he will get that chance at Notre Dame,’’ Lemming said.

Rees passed for more than 2,000 yards and 21 touchdowns while leading the Scouts to the playoffs last season. He also played for Lake Forest’s basketball team.

‘‘Just as a pure quarterback, he has an unbelievably accurate arm,’’ Lake Forest coach Chuck Spagnoli said. ‘‘He has a tremendous sense of what is going on on the field.’’

Rees is the second quarterback in the Class of 2010 to commit to the Irish. Andrew Hendrix of Cincinnati Moeller committed last month. But that — and the fact there are other highly recruited quarterbacks on Notre Dame’s roster — doesn’t bother Rees too much.

‘‘Anywhere you go, you are going to have competition,’’ Rees said. ‘‘It just feels good to have [the recruiting process] wrapped up.’’

Rees is the third quarterback in the area to commit to a major program. Graham committed to Ohio State, and Downers Grove South quarterback Chandler Whitmer is headed to Illinois.

Other players who recently committed include Maine South running back Matt Perez (Indiana), Homewood-Flossmoor offensive lineman Zach Fulton (Tennessee), Brother Rice offensive lineman Andy Gallik (Illinois) and Andrew offensive lineman Mark Lenkiewicz (Minnesota).