Buchner first won over Rees as a 15-year-old in Notre Dame football camp
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Four summers ago, Tommy Rees saw enough, heard enough, felt enough to extend a scholarship offer to a quarterback prospect with no high school varsity game tape and zero starting experience at that level.
“Talent, would be the (reason),” Rees said Saturday after that very same prospect who wowed the Notre Dame offensive coordinator/QBs coach as a 15-year-old in a camp setting — sophomore Tyler Buchner — was named ND’s starting quarterback to start the 2022 season.
“We were in (Notre Dame) Stadium. It was hot as hell,” Rees continued. “He ran a 4.68 (seconds) on his first 40. And then we got to the drills, and he could throw with every kid there — and better. I think he was going into his sophomore year.
“So, we knew right away, the talent was there. I remember spending that day — I think we walked over to the (Guglielmino Athletics Complex). It was Ty, his dad, my dad. Ty was born in Wilmette (Ill.) or Winnetka, where my father grew up. And so there was like an instant connection.
“The more time I got to spend around him, I said, ‘OK, this is the type of personality that can be the quarterback at Notre Dame.’ So, it started with talent. That was the evaluation. And then as we dug into the character, that was something that we knew could lead this program.”
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On Sept. 3 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, that vision comes alive against the second-ranked Buckeyes, 76-6 at home since 2010.
No. 5 Notre Dame (coaches poll) carries the nation’s longest active road win streak into the prime-time clash (7:30 ET, ABC-TV) with Ohio State, at 10 games.
Buchner will have 35 career pass attempts on the college level and just one full season as a starting QB in high school — thanks to a torn ACL as a sophomore at The Bishop’s School in San Diego and a pandemic-canceled fall season as a senior at Helix High in La Mesa, Calif. — when he steps into Indianapolis Colts rookie Jack Coan’s former role.
“I don’t know if it’s completely hit me yet, but it’s a blessing, and I am thankful and blessed to be in this position,” Buchner said Saturday after practice No. 8 of Irish training camp. “My teammates have been awesome and supportive of me, the coaching staff for believing in me. It’s a pretty surreal feeling.”
Head coach Marcus Freeman said the timing was right Saturday to give the offense some clarity. Buchner, ND’s second-leading rusher in 2021 as a backup/tag teammate of Coan’s in 10 games last season, offers a wider skill set than junior Drew Pyne, who battled Buchner throughout the spring and summer for the starting spot.
The best-case scenario for Notre Dame, as a team, came out of the competition. Buchner grew and improved into the profile Rees had long envisioned for him, while Pyne refined his game dramatically.
“This program needs Drew Pyne,” Rees said. “There's zero doubt in my mind. I don't know when, how, why, where, but this program needs him right now. And this program is going to need him moving forward.
“I mean, there's not 15 guys in this program that are more important to Notre Dame than Drew Pyne. And so I cannot give him enough credit for the way he's prepared, practiced, put himself in a position to be the best version of him he can be.
“He needs to continue to lead, continue to be a guy that everyone counts on. He's going to be great in the (QB) room. He’ll be very supportive of Tyler. And then at the end of the day, he needs to be ready to play.
“I think we've all been around this game long enough that you better have two that can help you win games. And that's how we feel right now.”
Pyne played in two games last season, against two elite defenses (Wisconsin and Cincinnati), and completed 15 of his 30 pass attempts for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
“Luckily, this whole time, I’ve had an amazing friend and competitor in Drew Pyne.” Buchner said. “Every single day, he pushes me to get better. He pushes me to spend more time in the building, watch film with him. We compete every single day in practice.
“He’s worked unbelievably hard, and I couldn’t be happier to have him on this team.”
Freshman Steve Angeli has been running third on the quarterback depth chart, with sophomore Ron Powlus III at No. 4.
Freeman emphasized the decision at the top of the depth chart has been more than nine months in the making, starting back in December when he was elevated from defensive coordinator to succeed Brian Kelly, now at LSU.
“When I first became the head coach — there (were) three things I, as the head coach, really looked for (in a starting QB). No. 1, are they making the correct decisions?
“No. 2, you've got to take care of football. We can't turn the ball over. And then (No.) 3, you've got to make plays. Who's making plays? There's a huge criteria I'm sure that coach Rees has in terms of how he evaluates those guys, but those are the three things that I really, really look for. We've been in constant dialogue about who was going to be the starter.”
What Rees would like to see in the next three weeks from Buchner is a confidence level that continues to build.
“And I think Tyler's finding his stride right now,” Rees said. “So, we're going to continue to have an extremely confident and calm quarterback. I think we're just continuing to build toward consistency and leadership. And those are the traits that we want to continue to have come out in him.
“And I think part of this decision is to allow him to have that platform to really not be apprehensive about every play, every decision. It allows him the freedom to go out there and operate, knowing that this team has his back and we're ready to move forward.”
Looking back, meanwhile, Buchner at the time didn’t have the same big-picture feeling the day that he won Rees over in the Irish football summer camp four years ago.
“Honestly, it was probably 120 degrees out there,” he said. “I think Lorenzo Styles was out there catching for me. He might have been throwing up. I was just trying to get through the day, trying to get back to the hotel and get some ice.
“I didn’t really think about it at the time, but now that I’m here, I am incredibly blessed to be in this position. I am thankful to be in this spot.”
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