It wasn’t too long ago when Notre Dame faithful — and coaches — believed that 2018 quarterback recruit Phil Jurkovec would be the future of the program.
The top-100 recruit and dual-threat signal-caller practically arrived from central casting for the position … yet it never quite worked out, so he is now starting at Boston College.
Of course, it’s only natural anywhere that the new guy, especially at quarterback, will be praised effusively. That’s the nature of recruiting. For 2021, it’s 6-2, 205-pound California native Tyler Buchner, who is already enrolled and preparing for spring practice, which will commence likely sometime in the latter part of March.
"His test score coming out of high school was through the roof, and his ability to retain information — almost like a weirdly smart way where it's borderline photographic, and he's able to retain things and spit them back to you," said offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees of Buchner.
Interestingly, in the 11-year Brian Kelly era, Rees in 2010 was the only freshman quarterback to see meaningful action, helping the team to a 4-0 finish as the starter when he had to replace the injured Dayne Crist. Every other freshman quarterback recruit since then was redshirted, although with Brandon Wimbush it came as a sophomore in 2016 instead of as a freshman.
With three-year starter Ian Book now graduated, there will be an open competition at quarterback this spring. Wisconsin graduate transfer Jack Coan was brought in to bring much-needed experience at the position and is clearly the odds-on favorite to be the starter. The question is whether Buchner can be gradually assimilated into the lineup as the year progresses.
Here's our Point-Counterpoint on whether Buchner can make an impact at Notre Dame in 2021:
Absolutely, Because Notre Dame Needs Him To
By Todd D. Burlage
To start, this is not an indictment of recent Notre Dame roster addition Coan, now the only one of five Irish scholarship quarterbacks to have ever started a college game.
Coan — a graduate transfer from Wisconsin and, to many, the presumed 2021 opening-day Irish starter — made 18 career starts for the Badgers and played in both the Big Ten Championship Game and the Rose Bowl at the end of the 2019 season.
Résumé noted, Coan adds a necessary been-there, done-that dynamic to an Irish QB roster that includes the inexperienced foursome of junior Brendon Clark (37 career mop-up snaps), sophomore Drew Pyne (25 career snaps), along with Buchner and Ron Powlus III. Furthermore, a "cranky knee" for Clark required medical attention, which might shelve him from competition this spring.
Coan’s success this season, especially through September, will correlate directly to Notre Dame’s success.
That said, be sure that both Kelly and Rees fully realize that Buchner — the No. 6 dual-threat QB in the country per Rivals — is the most gifted of the five quarterback options, the future of Notre Dame football, and his time is now.
As a mid-term enrollee, Buchner has seven months to hone his craft, find his footing and carve his place for the fall as a reliable dual-threat complement to Coan, who is a traditional drop-back quarterback. It would seem if there is ever a year to have a complementary figure at quarterback, or to at least get Buchner a series or two in a game, it would be in 2021.
Buchner as the opening day starter? Probably not, especially given that COVID-19 stole his senior high school season in 2020.
Buchner as a valuable 2021 situational option who Irish opponents need to prepare for every week? Anything otherwise would be a shame.
History Not On Side Of Freshman QBs Under Kelly
By Lou Somogyi
I don’t disagree about the opportunity to groom Buchner in 2021 as the future at quarterback. Book was the three-year starter from 2018-20, and Buchner likewise could be in 2022-24, with Coan the bridge in between.
With superpowers Clemson and Ohio State on both the 2022-23 regular season schedules — plus road outings at USC and North Carolina in 2022 — going into those years with limited (if any) meaningful game experience at signal-caller would not be ideal. Yet while it makes sense in theory, there are other realities.
First, remember how current offensive coordinator and former three-star quarterback Rees was “supposed to be” the placeholder between five-star Dayne Crist and the more electrifying Everett Golson? Rees ended up starting 31 times, the most in the Kelly era at quarterback.
Remember how three-star Book was “supposed to be” just an insurance policy in between top-100 recruits Wimbush (2015) and Jurkovec (2018)? Book ended up with the most starts at quarterback under Kelly (35), with a school-record 30 wins in that role.
Sophomore Drew Pyne fits the Rees/Book model of not having great stature but strong football IQ. He was ranked No. 118 overall nationally by Rivals in 2019 while Buchner was No. 114 in 2020, although Buchner didn’t even have a high school senior season with which to grow more as a signal-caller.
Second, every Kelly quarterback recruit after Rees in 2010 has been redshirted (Wimbush as a sophomore in 2016), be it five-star Gunner Kiel in 2012 or three-star Book in 2016.
In 2018, Book was integrated into the lineup early in the year in goal-line situations as a complement to Wimbush before eventually taking over the starting role. However, by that point Book was a junior, had a previous start and came off the bench to rally the Irish to a dramatic fourth-quarter win over LSU in the Citrus Bowl (21-17). Buchner has none of those experiences entering this season, not even as a high school senior.
History could change in 2021 regarding a freshman quarterback seeing meaningful action, but I won’t bet on it yet.
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