Brian Kelly didn’t shoot it down Thursday, though he had the chance. Tommy Rees stopped short of squashing the idea Saturday, even after Notre Dame announced fifth-year senior Jack Coan as its starting quarterback just hours earlier.
Notre Dame’s head coach and offensive coordinator may not have been overly convincing, but both left the door open for designing a package of plays for freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner. It’s more of an intriguing concept than it is a developed idea, but Buchner’s mobility and athleticism stood out in Thursday’s open practice and kept the curiosity alive.
“Tyler has a little Mustang in him,” Rees said.
But is it enough to force Notre Dame’s hand and put him on the field? Will the Irish be comfortable taking snaps away from their newly minted starter who won the job because of his consistency? The answers rest in how Buchner progresses through the rest of camp.
Buchner is a gifted runner, an element that’s not a cornerstone of Coan’s game. He can add an impactful dimension the Irish’s offense possessed the last three years with Ian Book, who ran for 1,517 yards on 4.2 yards per carry and 17 touchdowns in his career.
Yet it’s not quite as simple as rolling him out there, fully unleashed. Notre Dame’s task right now is to improve Buchner’s feel for when to take off and when to hang in the pocket for an extra moment and look to throw. Kelly thinks he still has room to grow there before designing a package for him can become a reality.
“There’s a difference between executing a package that utilizes his skill set vs. where he’s turning down throws and running haphazardly,” Kelly said. “If it was, ‘These are plays that are geared towards reading the pass and running, and that’s what he’s doing, yes.’ But we’re not there yet. I think we need a little bit more time.”
In essence, it depends if the Mustang gets more comfortable with a harness. But not too taut of one.
Notre Dame is not interested in harming Buchner’s improvisational skills, just as it didn’t want to bury Book’s. They were a weapon for Book and for Notre Dame. Book did, though, have moments of indecision and uncertainty in the pocket where he took off when it wasn’t advisable and left a throw on the field. It ultimately became less of a pattern as his career continued.
Notre Dame is working through a similar teaching process with Buchner, who understandably has some learning to do. He started just 13 games in high school and had seasons wiped out due to injury and California’s COVID-19 restrictions.
“We have to get him to knowing there’s a time where the play is happening and there’s a time of, ‘Go be you,’” Rees said. “We don’t want to coach that out of him, because it’s special. It’s continuing to slow things down to make sure he understands what defenses are doing and how we’re attacking them.
“We talk all the time in the quarterback room that we look to attack. When we call a play and we get the look to attack, we want to attack. It’s just continuing to push him to see those and understand them. And when it’s time to go, go and make your plays, because he has a pretty good feel for that.”
A hypothetical Buchner package doesn’t have to be ready in week one. It could launch in October. It could be incorporated into specific game plans to attack a defense Notre Dame’s staff thinks would struggle against a running quarterback. It could be rolled out no more than four times this season to preserve Buchner’s redshirt.
Or, if he needs more time, not deployed at all. That may be the most likely outcome at this point.
But the staff is intrigued. Buchner’s progress from his January arrival to the start of fall camp made 2021 involvement a legitimate conversation.
They’re publicly ruling nothing out.
“It’s pretty clear he’s a dynamic player,” Kelly said. “We have to make sure that dynamic player is prepared within our offensive structure. We’re not going to put a dynamic player to the side just because he’s young. We want to win. Dynamic players help you win. We just have to sort this out and figure out what that looks like.”
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.
