Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner to miss rest of season due to shoulder sprain
Marcus Freeman vowed to leave nothing unexamined or scrutinized in the aftermath of Notre Dame’s loss to Marshall Saturday. Personnel. Game plans. Play calls. Philosophy. Everything would go under the microscope.
“We have to be honest and take an unbiased look,” Freeman said. “Are we doing what’s best for this team, do we have the right people on the field and are we schematically doing the things it takes to have success?”
Quarterback, it turns out, will be among the first changes in the aftermath of the Irish’s 26-21 defeat.
But not by choice.
Sophomore starter Tyler Buchner will miss the rest of the season due to a “high-grade shoulder sprain” on his non-throwing side suffered on a run play late in the fourth quarter of the Irish’s 26-21 defeat, Freeman said Monday. He will have surgery Tuesday, with a recovery timeline of about four months.
“He ended up getting a high-grade, Grade 5 out of 6 AC sprain,” Freeman said.
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Buchner left the game with a little less than four minutes remaining following a tackle by Marshall linebacker Eli Neal. That play ended with Neal on top of him and his left shoulder as the first body part to hit the turf, bearing the weight of the hit. His arm appeared to be limp when he got up.
Freeman said he didn’t have a sense for the severity of Buchner’s injury when asked about it after the game.
“I don’t know,” Freeman said afterward. “I have not had any discussions about that.”
The discussions between then and Monday revealed news that Notre Dame’s quarterback situation has gone from concerning to worst case. The Irish hitched their 2022 outlook to Buchner’s development this offseason and in-season. Even an 0-2 start wasn’t likely to derail the plans of sticking with him.
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Now, though, that development is stunted. And a season already heading in an uninspiring direction just veered even further off course.
Junior Drew Pyne replaced Buchner for the rest of the game. Pyne went 3-of-6 for 20 yards and an interception in his stead.
Buchner beat out Pyne for the job in fall camp and started the first two games. Pyne will get the first shot at replacing him when Notre Dame hosts California Sept. 17 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC). He played two games last season in relief of starter Jack Coan, once due to injury and once because of a benching. He completed 15-of-30 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
“Drew Pyne will be our starter,” Freeman said. “As I said when we addressed the quarterback competition in fall camp, I had the utmost confidence in both those guys being able to lead our offense. We’re still very positive and optimistic about our future going forward.”
Freshman Steve Angeli moved up to the No. 2 quarterback spot on Notre Dame’s depth chart. He has not played in either of the Irish’s first two games.
Buchner is 28-of-50 for 378 yards and two interceptions this season. He also has a team-high 24 rushing attempts for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
