Young, inexperienced ND QB gets chance to shine in first start vs Buckeyes
True sophomore Tyler Buchner will get his first ever start against No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus on Sept. 3. Photo by Matt Cashore/USA TODAY Sports
When fifth-ranked Notre Dame invades Ohio Stadium on Saturday night to square up against second-ranked Ohio State, the Fighting Irish are going to ask a largely unproven, untested and inexperienced quarterback to lead them to victory.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman announced on Aug. 13 that true sophomore Tyler Buchner will be the one taking the snaps when their offense hits the field in front of over 100,000 rowdy fans.
Freeman said there were factors he was looking for in a starting QB back in the beginning of the year when he was named the head coach after Brian Kelly departed for LSU, and Freeman discussed those factors with third-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who has also been their QB coach since 2017. Ultimately, those were the deciding factors that went into naming Buchner the starter over third-year guy Drew Pyne.
“One is … are they making the correct decisions? Number two, they got to take care of the football. You know, we can’t turn the ball, we got to take care of the football. And then three, you got to make plays. So there’s a huge criteria I’m sure that coach Rees has in terms of how he evaluates those guys but those are the three things that I really, really look for and we (were) in constant dialogue about who was going to be the starter,” Freeman said on Aug. 13.
According to 247Sports’ composite rankings, the 6’ 1”, 215-pounder came into South Bend last year as a four-star recruit and the 11th-best overall QB. And Buckeye Nation can certainly remember what a second-year, largely unproven, untested and inexperienced QB can do if given the chance to thrive and succeed. The Buckeyes leaned on C.J. Stroud last season and all the redshirt freshman did was throw for 4,435 yards and 44 TD’s in 13 games, both of which are now good for second place in a single season. He also became the only QB in school history to throw for more than 500 yards in a game when he slung it for 573 in a 48-45 win against Utah in the Rose Bowl.
So who’s to say that a fresh-faced, fellow California kid can’t come out and shock the world by taking down the mighty Scarlet and Gray in his first-ever collegiate start?
Buchner seemed flummoxed when asked during the Aug. 13 press conference about taking on the task.
“You know I’ve been in games in some pretty big spots and you know, um, I feel pretty confident in myself in those situations but, you know, who knows what it’ll be like at Ohio State. I’m sure it’ll be extremely loud. If I continue to execute and focus on football and, you know, everything else will, you know, the fans in the stadium and all that, well I try not to think about that.”
Unproven, untested and inexperienced.
Or is he?
Despite playing in 10 games last year, Buchner only threw a total of 35 passes, completing 21 for 298 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. But don’t let those stats fool you, some of the instances he was on the field were key situations.
“If he had zero experience going into this then you’d try to create all these different environments and opportunities for him to learn. But I think the way he handled himself in critical moments last season provides us with some ability to see how he reacts in those situations,” said Rees on Aug. 13.
First there was the Toledo game where the Rockets were bombing Irish starting QB Jack Coan constantly for the first three quarters and took a 16-14 lead into the final quarter after sacking him five times and forcing him to throw a pick-six. Buchner started the fourth quarter with two runs totaling 17 yards to the Toledo 28 before Coan reentered and was immediately clobbered for his sixth sack and the Irish settled for a field goal.
Their next offensive series, Rees didn’t mess around and put Buchner in the game and the result proved fortuitous as the true freshman connected with running back Chris Tyree on the first play of the drive for a 55-yard TD pass to give them a 24-16 lead.
Rees pointed out the three quarters Buchner played in Blacksburg, Virg. against Virginia Tech where the youngster was called upon to come in and give a floundering Irish offense some spark after trailing 10-0 with 10 minutes to go in the first half. He immediately led them to a touchdown on his first drive and threw a TD pass with a minute to play in the half to take them into the locker room with a 14-13 lead. He subsequently started the second half and with under five minutes to go, engineered another scoring drive to re-give them the lead, 21-16. Coan would come back into the game and ultimately lead them from a 29-21 deficit to a 32-29 victory.
Rees also touched on the North Carolina game where Buchner threw all of three passes but completed two of them, one being their first touchdown after Coan had been unable to get the offense going and the other was a critical second-and-five where Buchner connected on a 10-yard pass to tight end Michael Mayer to keep the drive alive which ultimately led them to kick a game-sealing field goal for the 44-34 win.
There were also a couple of goal line plays in the second half versus USC where Rees and Freeman called upon Buchner to help sustain momentum and he responded with two short runs: a three-yarder from the 9 in the third quarter that resulted in a personal foul against the Trojans and they would score a touchdown; the other run being a three-yard TD plunge in the fourth that was the capper on a 31-16 win.
Needless to say, Buchner isn’t unknown to being thrust into jaw-clenching situations.
“This isn’t a guy who hasn’t played in big moments,” said Rees. “I think a lot of the confidence we have in the staff, you know, started last year and has continued to build through the last nine months.”
Buchner echoed his OC’s sentiments.
“I think, you know, having confidence comes from execution and so long as, you know, (I) continue to execute, continue to stack good days, the confidence is going to go up.”
The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. and will air nationally on ABC.