Marcus Freeman, Tommy Rees reveal what they saw from Tyler Buchner to win starting job

The Notre Dame coaching staff is fully behind their decision to have true sophomore Tyler Buchner as their starting quarterback out of fall camp.

Head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees worked in tandem throughout the quarterback battle and both ultimately came to the decision that Buchner has done enough at this point in fall camp to be named the starter and give the Irish an identity heading into Week One.

“When I meet with the quarterbacks and I met with Coach Rees – this wasn’t recent, it was when I first became a head coach – are three things,” Freeman said. “Number one, are they making the correct decisions? Number two, you’ve got to take care of the football. We can’t turn the ball over. We’ve got to take care of the football. And number three – who’s making plays?

“There’s a huge criteria I’m sure that Coach Rees has in terms of how we evaluate those guys, but those are the three things that I really, really look for, and we’ve been in constant dialogue about who was going to be the starter.”

Buchner saw action in 10 games as a true freshman in 2021. He threw 35 passes, completing 21 of them for 298 yards and throwing three interceptions. Buchner had three touchdowns through the air and three on the ground. His rushing abilities also played a role in the coaching staff’s decision.

“This process goes a lot further than just this week,” Rees said. “We’ve been evaluating it for probably close to a year if you take a full body of work and the ability each quarterback has. We think for our team’s best interest, naming a starting quarterback is important, not only for the team, but for that individual and the direction that we’re moving forward on offense.”

The La Jolla (Calif.) Helix product spent the spring and summer competing with Drew Pyne for the starting job. Pyne was 15-for-30 with 224 yards and two scores in 2021. Buchner and Pyne backed up former Irish quarterback Jack Coan for the duration of last season.

Freeman made sure to note that the person most supportive to Buchner during the process was Pyne, and no one is happier for the sophomore quarterback. The first time Fighting Irish faithful will be able to see Buchner in action will be during Notre Dame’s season opener against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sept. 3.

“It was a very hard decision. You have two kids that are working very hard to accomplish a goal,” Rees said. “You know, Drew has been the best Drew Pyne he’s been since he’s been at Notre Dame, which is a huge credit to him.

“You know, we felt like Tyler gives us the best chance. To point to one moment we had a practice a couple days ago, where, you know, we probably felt like, ‘okay, this is what it’s gonna look like and this is where we can operate at our best,’ and we made the decision as a staff and as a group and we’re full steam ahead.”