Irish coach Brian Kelly removed any uncertainty regarding the quarterback position, naming senior Dayne Crist as the starter against South Florida in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

Crist battled sophomore Tommy Rees throughout training camp to earn the nod from Kelly as the starter.

“We named a starting quarterback, and that will be Dayne Crist, who will start for us against the University of South Florida,” Kelly said. “Both of those young men, Dayne and Tommy Rees, had a great battle for that starting position, but Dayne will be our starter, and I expect him to be our starter for 13 weeks.”

Crist returned to the field last spring following a patellar ligament injury to the knee in October against Tulsa. In his sophomore season, Crist tore his ACL as well.

“He has to play the game the way it comes to him,” Kelly said. “One of the things he did in camp was show great escapability. After two knee surgeries, he moved well, he was able to extend plays. We couldn’t have somebody that couldn’t extend plays in our offensive system, and he was able to do that.”

Kelly informed Crist and Rees of the decision during one-on-one meetings with each quarterback Monday. While physical attributes played a significant role in the decision, Kelly said subjective factors ultimately led him to choose Crist.

“I would say quite frankly and quite honestly, [Crist] is the kind of guy I want to coach,” Kelly said. “He’s tougher mentally. He handles himself in that leadership position in the way I want our quarterbacks to handle it. We have great confidence in his ability to lead our football team to a championship.”