Head coach Marcus Freeman's insistence that Notre Dame's quarterback competition is still ongoing wasn't convincing enough to prevent Tyler Buchner from exploring his options.
Buchner, who will be a junior next season, announced Tuesday on social media that he will enter the transfer portal. Later Tuesday afternoon, Buchner's name appeared in the portal with a "do not contact" tag, Inside ND Sports confirmed.
"I have decided to enter the transfer portal in order to explore my options, and decide what is best for my future," Buchner wrote in part of his released statement. "After discussions with Coach Freeman, remaining at Notre Dame is thankfully an option I'm continuing to consider."
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Buchner entered the spring in a quarterback battle with Wake Forest graduate transfer Sam Hartman, the ACC's all-time leader in passing touchdowns. The competition seemed like a formality from the outside, but Freeman and his coaching staff asserted throughout the spring that the two were in a genuine competition.
Notre Dame's Blue-Gold Game on Saturday only made the gap between the two seem bigger as Hartman led the Gold team to a 24-0 victory by accounting for all three touchdowns scored in the spring scrimmage. Hartman completed 13 of his 16 passes (81.3%) for 189 yards and two touchdowns and rushed once for a one-yard touchdown.
Buchner, who started three games last season, struggled to find any rhythm Saturday. He finished 8-of-18 passing (44.4%) for 44 yards with one interception. He was also sacked twice.
“No, I think we still have a quarterback battle," Freeman said Saturday when asked if Hartman made a move ahead of Buchner. "You can't determine a winner or a loser based off one practice — practice 15. You can't base a decision off of what we view in a certain outcome. There's a lot that goes into it. There's a lot that goes into a quarterback battle, but obviously the quarterback play.
"I know just being out there, we have to go back and watch the film. We're not blocking the end. There's some protection issues. We're dropping balls. We have to go and look: Were the routes exactly precise?
“I'm always going to defend the quarterbacks because, as I've always said, that position is most like the head coach’s. They get praise and criticism. Everybody's going to praise Sam for how we played today, and they're going to criticize Tyler. They both probably played pretty well. We have to look at the film. I know the stats might not say it.
"But listen, both of them are tremendously talented. And we'll go back and evaluate all 15 practices and continue to look at it as we move forward.”
Losing Buchner would leave Notre Dame with Hartman as the only quarterback on the roster with significant experience. Sophomore Steve Angeli, a former three-star recruit, played in two games last season as a true freshman. He didn't throw the ball in his seven snaps.
The only other scholarship quarterback on the roster after Angeli is early enrolled freshman Kenny Minchey, a former four-star recruit Rivals ranked as the No. 11 pro-style quarterback and No. 208 overall in the 2023 class.
When Notre Dame made it clear it planned to pursue a transfer quarterback this offseason, quarterback Drew Pyne, who started 10 games last season, entered the transfer portal first. Pyne, a junior last year, stepped into the starting role after Buchner was sidelined with a significant shoulder injury in the second game of the season against Marshall that kept Buchner out for the remainder of the regular season.
Freeman and then-offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who since left for the same job at Alabama, wanted to improve Notre Dame's quarterback play in the 2023 season, which led them to bringing in Hartman. Now Rees is overseeing a cloudy quarterback competition in Alabama, which could be an attractive destination for Buchner if there's mutual interest.
Rees has been a supporter of Buchner since identifying him as a Notre Dame quarterback target for the 2021 recruiting class in 2018 when Buchner wasn't quite a sophomore yet at La Jolla (Calif.) The Bishop's School.
Rivals ranked Buchner as the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback and No. 113 overall in the 2021 class upon the completion of his high school career at La Mesa (Calif.) Helix. The former four-star recruit made his first college appearance in the second game of his career as a change-of-pace running threat behind starter Jack Coan.
Buchner played in 10 games as a freshman with a 60% completion rate (21-of-35), 298 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed 46 times for 336 yards and three touchdowns.
Buchner beat out Pyne in a quarterback competition last offseason, but he struggled in his first two starts — losses to Ohio State and Marshall. When he went down with a high-grade sprain of his AC joint in his left, non-throwing shoulder, Buchner had yet to throw a touchdown pass in the first two games.
Buchner's shoulder injury required surgery, but he healed in time to start in the Gator Bowl after Pyne already exited for the portal. Buchner provided highlights and lowlights in the 45-38 Irish victory over South Carolina. He finished 18-of-33 passing (54.5%) for 273 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions. Two of those interceptions were returned by the Gamecocks for touchdowns. Buchner also rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
Buchner will enter next season with a career passing line of 67-of-118 (56.8%) for 949 yards and six touchdowns with eight interceptions. He totaled 459 yards and seven touchdowns on 82 rushing attempts in 13 games.
Though his production hasn't been particularly efficient nor prolific, Buchner's presence would certainly provide stability on Notre Dame's quarterback depth chart behind Hartman. If Buchner continued to improve and found ways to learn from Hartman under new quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli and new offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, he would seemingly be in line to be Notre Dame's starter again in 2024.
Buchner will have a chance to learn if there are better opportunities for him with clearer paths to playing time in 2023. Notre Dame may want to look to the portal again itself if Buchner finds a new home.
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