Notebook: Freeman sticks with his decision in Notre Dame's QB what-if game
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Drew Pyne’s most recent small-sample size snapshot, that has him on a trajectory to break Notre Dame single-season school records for both pass efficiency and completion percentage, invoked two words among much of the Irish fan base this weekend.
What if?
On Monday afternoon, roughly 36 hours after Pyne and the Irish (3-2) took down No. 16 BYU in Las Vegas, the media posed that very concept to head coach Marcus Freeman, with a twist, during his weekly press conference.
Specifically, what if Pyne had been Notre Dame’s starter since game 1? And more pointedly, had Freeman re-evaluated the decision to elevate sophomore Tyler Buchner to QB1 status in mid-August over the junior, Pyne?
Buchner started ND’s season opener against No. 2 Ohio State, a 21-10 road loss on Sept. 3, and a 26-21 home loss to Marshall the following Saturday. In the fourth quarter of the Marshall game, Buchner suffered a season-ending injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder.
Pyne has topped the depth chart — and ascended in his performance — ever since.
He heads into start No. 4, Saturday night (7:30 EDT; NBC) at Notre Dame Stadium against Stanford (1-4), and Pyne is ranked 17th nationally in passing efficiency (168.3) and seventh in completion percentage (.725).
Both marks, if they were to be extrapolated out to the end of the season, would delete Jimmy Clausen and Bob Williams (161.4 pass-efficiency rating), as well as Ian Book (.682 completion percentage) from the top of the record books in those respective statistical categories.
"No, I don't question that decision at all. That was earned,” Freeman said of Buchner’s starting status. “That was earned through practice, and we made a decision. Sometimes the results can put a mask over your eyes and cloud the process of getting to that decision.
“I know we didn't win that game and three quarters that Tyler played, but Tyler Buchner earned the right to be a starter through preparation. Now, Drew Pyne’s done a superb job. He's done an excellent job at leading this team.
“He's earned the right, obviously, now to be our starting quarterback and has done a great job with this opportunity. But no, I don't question our decision in terms of making Tyler the starter to start the year."
Buchner, ND’s tag-team/change-up QB in 2021 with then-starter Jack Coan, finished his truncated 2022 season 28-of-50 passing for 378 yards and no TDs with two interceptions. That works out to a 111.5 pass-efficiency mark.
Pyne’s relief appearance against Marshall (3-6-1, 20 yards, 1 TD) netted him a 94.7 pass-efficiency mark. After a skittish start against Cal on Sept. 17, Pyne rebounded in the second half to produce a 157.4 for the game.
Against North Carolina, he improved to 171.1, before posting a 185.4 against BYU, going 22-for-28 for 262 yards and three TDs, with an interception on a tipped pass. After starting 4-of-8, Pyne completed his next 15 passes, concluded on a rare drop by All-America tight end Michael Mayer.
It tied the second-longest completion streak in Notre Dame history. Everett Golson (25) owns the record.
The Buchner/Pyne debate, populating message boards and water-cooler conversations, can’t account for one significant factor: Whether it’s reasonable to assume that Buchner would have improved as well had he remained healthy.
It’s unequivocal that the offensive line’s surge and the running game’s emergence aided Pyne’s improvement.
Since the Marshall game, Notre Dame has leaped from 111th in rushing offense to 51st. And the Irish, from that same point, have risen from 90th to 48th in sacks allowed during their three-game winning streak.
Also of note, Buchner faced the No. 7 and No. 13 teams nationally in total defense, in Ohio State and Marshall, respectively. Pyne hasn’t been confronted with a top 50 defense in his three starts, and won’t be for the next two weeks (Stanford is 109th, UNLV on Oct, 22 is No. 64).
But over the last five games of the regular season, there are four top 50 defenses awaiting Pyne and the Irish, starting with unbeaten Syracuse’s 10th-ranked defense on the road on Oct. 29.
So weekly incremental improvement takes precedence over what what-ifs, at least as far as Freeman is concerned.
Bracing for no Bracy?
Notre Dame has already faced the Nos. 1, 3 and 25 QBs nationally in pass efficiency and has held each one of them below their season average. In the case of C.J. Stroud of Ohio State and Jaren Hall of BYU, it was decisively so.
Stroud had a 145.1 rating in Ohio State’s 21-10 win, compared to his nation’s leading 207.6. And Hall was at 139.3 for BYU on Saturday night in its 28-20 loss to the Irish, compared to his 160.7 season rating.
No. 3 North Carolina QB Drake Maye (183.7) came the closest to his season mark (185.1) in a 45-32 loss to the Irish on Sept. 24.
And now here comes Stanford’s Tanner McKee — but possibly without grad senior TaRiq Bracy to help defend against a passer who’s currently a modest 48th nationally in passing efficiency (147.7) but who Pro Football Focus’ Mike Renner just last week projected as the ninth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The 5-10, 185-pound Bracy — one of Notre Dame’s best defensive players this season regardless of position — suffered a hamstring injury late in ND’s Shamrock Series win at Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Freeman termed Bracy as questionable for Saturday night’s matchup with the Cardinal.
Life in the defensive backfield without Bracy might be termed as questionable too. In nickel alignments, the Irish may turn to junior Clarence Lewis or freshman Jaden Mickey, to play with fellow cornerbacks senior Cam Hart and freshman Benjamin Morrison.
The Irish are 94th nationally in pass-efficiency defense WITH Bracy,
Mickey has some familiarity with the McKee family, but not Tanner himself. They both are graduates of Centennial High School in Corona, Calif. But McKee took a two-year Mormon Mission before enrolling at Stanford and is now a junior.
So when he was a senior at Centennial, Mickey was still in middle school. But Tanner’s brother Caden McKee — a 6-foot-6, 270-pound offensive tackle — was a high school teammate of Mickey.
If Bracy is able to play, look for Mickey to narrow his focus to playing field cornerback for the balance of the season instead of cross-training at nickel and outside corner.
Stanford has an 11-game losing streak to FBS opponents, and, aside from its 128th ranking out of 131 in sacks allowed, its biggest headaches are on the defensive side of the ball.
On Saturday night and with Oregon State playing its backup quarterback (Ben Gulbranson), the Cardinal coughed up a 14-point fourth quarter lead, 18 fourth-quarter points and a 56-yard completion for a TD with 13 seconds left in a 28-27 loss.
Roster management
Freeman has acknowledged from day one as head coach, being an elite recruiter isn’t only about luring four- and five-star high school prospects to sign with your school in mid-December.
It’s about constantly re-recruiting your own roster, with the no-sitting-out-a-year transfer portal so appealing.
The decision last week for senior defensive tackle Jacob Lacey to opt into a redshirt year and hit the transfer portal was a reminder.
"It’s a reflection (that) you have to have relationships with those guys in your (position) room,” Freeman said. “If a guy's frustrated, you'll know it if you spend enough time with them and you talk with them and you have the type of relationship that you have to have with those guys.
“I'm not just talking about football frustrations. There are so many things going on with these guys, and we have to be here to support them more than just football. But it starts with having a relationship and building that trust. That's what I'm challenging the coaches to do.
“We have to make sure now that we're asking those hard questions. Part of having a relationship with somebody is being able to be honest with them. But honesty comes from trust. Trust is earned over time. We have to earn that trust with our players, so that we can have those honest conversations.
“They're going to tell us how they really feel. Again, this isn't something that every single day we walk around saying, ‘Is somebody going to transfer or redshirt?’ It's just conversations that you have to continue to have.
"We look at every single freshman and say, ‘Hey, is it best for them to play another game or can we save their season? Is it best for them to not use their redshirt?’ We're always going to try to make the best decision for our players. That's the reality of it.”
Whither Wilkins?
So far, grad senior wide receiver Joe Wilkins’ comeback from spring foot surgery has resulted in three brief cameos, zero catches and not a single snap since ND’s 24-17 win over Cal on Sept. 17.
He was the only one of Notre Dame’s seven healthy wide receivers — and he is healthy, according to Freeman — not to see any playing time in ND’s win over BYU on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
“Joe’s a guy that has played a lot of ball for us previously,” Freeman said. “I challenged Joe and I challenged (receivers) coach (Chansi) Stuckey to continue to communicate what he has to do to get into the rotation. There's a lot of guys that want to be in that rotation that have to earn it in practice."
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