Herbstreit sizes up ND QB Tyler Buchner and his future beyond the OSU clash
For Kirk Herbstreit, it feels more like an unwrapping of Tyler Buchner Saturday night in the national spotlight, the first hints of what he might turn into, rather than a chance for the Notre Dame sophomore quarterback to clearly define himself for the long term.
Even if he concocts enough magic in his first collegiate start for the fifth-ranked Irish to extend the nation’s longest active road win streak to 11 games against a 17 ½-point favorite, No. 2 Ohio State, in the season opener for both teams.
“Now that I’m calling these NFL games, I think repetitions at that position — whether it’s high school football, college football, whatever it is — it’s all about the game slowing down for quarterbacks,” said former Ohio State quarterback Herbstreit, who will handle the analyst role for ABC’s telecast Saturday night (7:30 EDT) from sure-to-be-raucous Ohio Stadium.
“The one way you can do that is when you get out there and play. And you go through some really tough times and you get through it. And you come back the next game, and you keep piling up that foundation of work.
“And so, he’s a talented player. But he’s going to be a very different player by the middle of this season or the end of this season because of what exactly I’m describing.”
Buchner played 163 collegiate snaps as a freshman in a niche role to supplement/complement departed starter Jack Coan last season. It’s a remarkable accomplishment given that California COVID-19 pandemic restrictions (2020) and a torn ACL on the first offensive series of the 2018 season limited the San Diego product to one high school season as a varsity starter (2019).
He was adept enough in his 2021 tag-team role to average 7.3 yards a carry, roughly a yard and a half better than QB Tony Rice averaged during Notre Dame’s last national championship season (1988). And the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Buchner ended up as Notre Dame’s second-leading rusher in 2021 behind only 1,000-yard rusher Kyren Williams, now an LA Rams rookie running back.
As a passer, Buchner fashioned a 142.7 efficiency rating, almost 50 points better than 2006 Heisman Trophy finalist Brady Quinn accrued as a freshman in 2003. But with 35 total pass attempts on the season, Buchner threw 24 fewer passes cumulatively in 10 games than the multi-record-setting Quinn did in his starting debut against Purdue alone in 2003.
“I’m excited to see Buchner,” Herbstreit, also part of ESPN College GameDay's crew in Columbus, said Tuesday via a Zoom conference call. “Now he’s won the job and it’s his offense. This an opportunity for (offensive coordinator) Tommy Rees to show America and Notre Dame fans, it’s not just, ‘This is our system. This is who we are.’
“Great offensive coordinators, like Tommy, they adjust their scheme to their personnel and to their strengths. And so, you go from having a more traditional dropback guy (Coan) to now having a guy that can really put pressure on a defense with his legs and his arm, and I think you’ll see a very different approach.”
The Ohio State defense figures to be very different, at least in approach, than the one that finished 59th nationally in total defense in 2021 and 96th out of 130 FBS teams in third-down defense.
Those numbers led to an in-season demotion of Buckeye defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs and a postseason purge of him. He was replaced by Jim Knowles, who presided over the nation’s No. 5 team in total defense at Oklahoma State.
Knowles did not coach the Cowboys, though, in their 37-35 Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame on Jan. 1.
“It’s a defense built around keeping you guessing,” Herbstreit said. “And you will not be able to lock in and have an idea of what they’re in. They’re going to disguise (fronts and pressures). And, especially on third down, they’re going to get after the quarterback.
“That’s his calling card. That’s what he’s known to do. And now he’s got some serious players at his disposal to be able to dial this defense up. So, I’m excited to see where they’ve been the last couple of years and where they are this year.”
Buchner did not play in the Oklahoma State game, one of three games last season in which he spent the entirety of on the sidelines.
“Tommy Rees … is going to try to put his young quarterback in a position to not have to deal with a lot of those third-and-8s and third-and-10s,” Herbstreit said. “And they need to stay on schedule and avoid those obvious passing situations or it could be a tough day for their offensive line and for Tyler Buchner.
“So, the biggest thing I would say is important for them is early-down play action and staying on schedule to try to catch the Ohio State defense. Throwing (the ball) on your terms as an offense, as opposed to waiting until they know what’s coming.”
Buchner, in meeting the media after practice Tuesday evening, expressed confidence in being able to navigate Knowles’ scheme, the anticipated unfriendly atmosphere and the big stage. And he said that Rees coaching him harder since Buchner was named QB1 two and a half weeks ago has only raised the confidence level.
“I think it probably has to do with volume,” Buchner said when asked if Rees’ vocabulary had changed and become sharper.
“I would say he expects more — like, not in a bad way, but he really pushes me every single day. Like if I miss a throw in scout period, like today, he's really on me. It's like constant coaching and things to prepare me, because he wants me to be the best player I can be in order to help this team.”
And what might that eventually look like?
“I haven’t seen enough of him to be able to give you a really strong answer on who he is and who he can potentially be,” Herbstreit said. “I like quarterbacks who are mobile, personally. I like a guy that can sit in the pocket and make every throw. But when things aren’t there, I like a guy who can use his feet.
“I like a guy who can run a little zone read and keep a defense honest in that way. So, he’s got a lot of the skill set that I personally love to see. And I think that he could be very effective in the college game, but I need to see more of him before I can tell you what his ceiling might be.”
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