Notre Dame's Future At Quarterback Is On The Roster, Not In The Portal

Notre Dame's future at quarterback isn't in the transfer portal, it's on the roster

There are some big names in the transfer portal, and when you consider the poor perception of Notre Dame's quarterback future it would make sense why fans are wondering if the Irish will hit the portal.

Spencer Rattler (Oklahoma), Bo Nix (Auburn), Kedon Slovis (USC) and Dillan Gabriel (UCF) are all currently in the transfer portal. All very intriguing options and certainly big names, but if you ask me none of them are the answer for Notre Dame at quarterback.

The answer for Notre Dame is already on the roster.

Starting quarterback Jack Coan will complete his college eligibility once the Fiesta Bowl is complete. There are a lot of questions about the backups, sophomore Drew Pyne and freshman Tyler Buchner.

Buchner entered the season with a great deal of hype, but for some reason many seem to already have dismissed him as the future. There has been an unnecessarily critical view of his play this season, with a focus on his mistakes taking greater precedent with some than the really impressive plays he made.

I've been told time and time again that Buchner, while a great runner, doesn't have the passing ability to be a great quarterback.

I have no idea what that is based on. The only thing I can think of is that too many failed to heed my warning this summer about showing patience with Buchner. Let's not forget that entering this season Buchner had not played football since the 2019 season due to Covid-19 canceling the fall 2020 football season in California.

It seems we've forgotten that Buchner is a quarterback that passed for 4,474 yards and 53 touchdowns as a junior. He passed for 53 touchdowns, that's not his touchdown total. Buchner rushed for 28 more touchdowns, giving him 81 on the season.

No one doubts his dynamic running ability, but it seems there are plenty of concerns about his throwing ability. Buchner completed 60.0% of his passes this season (21-35) for 298 yards and three touchdowns. Buchner averaged 8.5 yards per attempt and 14.2 yards per completion. He also rushed for 336 yards and three more scores.

Consider that Bryce Young, the sophomore quarterback at Alabama who just won the Heisman Trophy, passed for just 156 yards (59.1% completions) and one touchdown as a true freshman and had minus-23 yards rushing. He averaged 7.1 yards per pass attempt and 12.0 yards per completion.

I'm not saying Buchner will repeat Young's growth in year two, but I am pointing out that Buchner's results this season are actually impressive and inline with what we saw from Justin Fields as a freshman (594 yards of offense, 8 TD). Another true sophomore - Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud - didn't attempt a single pass as a true freshman but as a sophomore he passed for 3,862 yards and 38 touchdowns.

I don't see Buchner's freshman season the way many seem to view it. I'm actually quite pleased with what I saw from Buchner this season. He ranked as a Top 50 recruit on the IB Board, and what he showed this season, based on what my expectations were, have me even more confident in his ability to develop as a passer and dynamic playmaker. 

Buchner has a lightning quick release, and when he was right this season you saw the potential he brings as a passer. There are three plays that I want to point to.

Two of them came against Virginia Tech, the game where we saw Buchner have to run the entire offense.

This is something we saw from Buchner quite a bit during his high school career. He makes a quick decision, throws the ball with confidence and hits Kevin Austin in stride for a big gain.

Here's another clip from that same game, and after you watch it I'll discuss why these two clips are important for me.

On both throws you see Buchner throwing in rhythm, keeping a good base, ripping through the throwing zone and he snaps the ball off. His throws were placed perfectly and showed good touch (the first throw) and downfield zip (the second throw). These are throws Buchner made time and time and time again in high school.

These are the types of throws my sources tell me Buchner names with regularity in practice. The tools are certainly there for him to be a great passer.

Of course, Buchner is also playmaker in the pass game. This is huge for his teammates because his running ability is such that opponents have to key on that part of his game, which means you'll see his teammates breaking free for plays like this more and more.

Is Buchner polished? No, of course not, that's why he also had some throws that were really poor. He lacks experience and his mechanics were inconsistent. That's all part of being a young player, and especially a young player that didn't play a snap during his senior season in high school and also missed almost his entire sophomore season.

Buchner didn't play this season because of anything Coan did wrong. He played this season because during the spring, summer and fall camp his ability to make plays with his legs and arm was simply too good not to utilize. 

The experience Buchner had this season, the ups and the downs, are going to make him a much, much better player in the future. He got the experience he lacked during his senior season in high school, he got to go through struggles that he didn't get as a senior, he was able to see in real game action what he can and can't do.

You can expect Buchner to make a huge jump from year one to year two, which makes the future of the position very, very bright.

I'll have more on Drew Pyne after the season, and he factors into this optimism as well.

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