There was no ceremonious entrance.
His name wasn’t blasted from the public address announcer’s mouth and into the ears of nearly 70,000 fans at Notre Dame Stadium. He simply trotted onto the field, commanded the Fighting Irish huddle and lined up behind senior center Jarrett Patterson.
And then he ran for 26 yards on the first play of his college career.
Notre Dame true freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner entering the game against Toledo, temporarily relieving a healthy graduate student Jack Coan and being a main contributor in the Irish's narrow 32-29 victory couldn’t have been on many Fighting Irish home-opener Bingo cards.
How could it have been?
Coan was coming off a 366-yard, four-touchdown performance in Notre Dame’s 41-38 season-opening victory over Florida State after all. He engineered yet another flawless game-opening touchdown drive against the Rockets, too.
And yet, Notre Dame still needed a spark. It couldn’t run the ball whatsoever in the early going against Toledo, clinging to a slim 7-6 lead. When Buchner ran onto the field for the first time, Notre Dame had -1 rushing yard. When he went back to the sideline after leading a touchdown drive, Notre Dame had 80. And he had 37 of them.
“We’re trying to find a run game,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. “We were backed up there, and I felt like going to Tyler there, he would give us the versatility in the run game that we needed at that time. Turned out that it worked out pretty good, and he gave us the shot in the arm that we needed.”
So, now what? How many times will Notre Dame have to turn to Buchner when the going gets tough offensively? How many shots in the arm can Buchner provide? Those answers might have to manifest naturally.
Buchner’s entrance wasn’t a total surprise, either. Not to his Notre Dame’s teammates, anyway. Sophomore running back Chris Tyree said the 55-yard touchdown the two connected on in the fourth quarter was a player that was worked on all week in practices.
Buchner will continue to get his opportunities. The question is how many.
“I think having them both keeps the defense off of what you’re trying to do,” Kelly said of Coan and Buchner. “I think we can blend both into what we are trying to do. But each week is a different week.”
Buchner’s pass to Tyree was one of three he completed on the day. He passed for 78 yards without throwing an incompletion. Kelly said Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has felt comfortable opening the playbook up for Buchner.
No. 12’s insertion into any game going forward won’t necessarily mean he’s automatically going to run. That’s where the confusion for the opposition Kelly alluded to could come into play.
However, there is only so much Buchner can do with limited snaps. Coan is clearly the No. 1 option through two weeks of the season. There was a reason he was the one entrusted with leading Notre Dame’s come from behind, go-ahead touchdown drive with 1:35 remaining.
But if Buchner continues to make plays and move the offense when his number is called, could he push Coan for a larger share of the snaps? Absolutely. Especially if the Notre Dame offensive line continues to struggle because of injuries and a lack of cohesion.
Coan is clearly not as mobile as Buchner. He was sacked six times for a loss of 37 yards. He finished the game with -24 rushing yards on credited eight attempts. Buchner had 68 rushing yards on seven carries.
Playing behind an offensive line that already lost starting left tackle Blake Fisher to a long-term injury while his replacement, Michael Carmody, went down with an undisclosed injury of his own could be reason to play Buchner more and more in the early stages of the season.
And maybe even beyond. His teammates wouldn’t flinch.
“He’s a baller,” Tyree said. “It’s pretty obvious as soon as he comes into the game.”
“What he did today, he did all camp and all summer,” sophomore tight end Michael Mayer said. “It didn’t surprise me at all. He’s very capable of that.”
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