Notre Dame will have its hands full on both sides of the ball when it faces Alabama on Friday in the Rose Bowl national semifinal set to be played in Arlington, Texas.

And if there’s anyone besides head coach Brian Kelly that knows the challenges of game-planning for the Nick Saban-coached Crimson Tide, it’s his starting quarterback from the last time the 2 teams met, Tommy Rees, as the Fighting Irish found themselves on the wrong end of a 42-14 rout in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game.

Rees, of course, is now the Irish’s offensive coordinator, and one player he singled out during the game week press conference on Monday was cornerback Patrick Surtain II. To Rees, there’s plenty of parallels between the 2020 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and another star Alabama cornerback from 8 years ago.

“Personnel-wise, for me, it starts with No. 2, probably as good a corner as I’ve seen in college football any year, to be honest with you,” Rees said. “We played them in (the 2013 BCS National Championship), and they had a real good corner, Dee Milliner. But Surtain is special. He’s probably the strength of their defense in terms of an individual.”

The Irish will certainly be looking to neutralize the talented junior if they’re to avoid a repeat of the events of nearly 8 years ago. Surtain was a finalist for the 2020 Bronko Nagurski Trophy—given to the top defensive player in college football—and, according to Pro Football Focus, graded out as the top cornerback in the country at 87.0.