JD PicKell: Tyler Buchner must battle for Alabama's starting quarterback job

Nick Saban made a major addition to end the last week when Tyler Buchner committed to Alabama via the transfer portal. However, On3’s JD PicKell wants everyone to know that that move may not exactly mean what we think it does.

PicKell explained his stance on a recent episode of ‘The Hard Count’. He said Buchner’s arrival isn’t going to change anything about the state of the quarterback battle at ‘Bama. It may seem that the staff brought him in to take the pole position but, in the end, his opportunity to win the job is going to be the same as everyone else who has been there from the start.

“What do we have now in Tuscaloosa? I think it’s pretty obvious. We have a very real quarterback battle,” stated PicKell. “There’s a segment of the population that believes Tyler Buchner was brought in to be your starting quarterback. I believe he was brought in to have a chance to be your starting quarterback. But we probably all can agree that you don’t get any handouts at Alabama. I don’t think this quarterback battle is any different.”

“Tyler Buchner will get a fair shake. But that’s about it,” PicKell said. “It is going to be a competition…Tyler Buchner was brought in to compete. He was not brought in to just be tossed the keys to the offense and to have Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson hold a clipboard.”

Even so, PicKell went on to say that the addition of the former Notre Dame QB does change the energy of the competition. He gave credit to Saban for doing what looked necessary considering the state of the Tide’s room following A-Day. Now, with Buchner in the fold, he believes all the candidates are taking notice and will therefore step up their respective games.

“The reason why Alabama fans should be a little bit more optimistic about this move? On one hand, you’re saying, ‘We didn’t have the answer in the room. That’s unfortunate.’. Yeah, that is unfortunate,” PicKell said. “But, on the bright side, you can’t change what you had in the room outside of going through the portal. So you did everything you can control to get enough talent in that room.”

“But, when I look at the situation right now, you have created a new sense of urgency for that entire quarterback room. And that is going to benefit you in the long run,” continued PicKell. “The reason for that being now (they are) feeling the heat a little bit more…This dude Tyler Buchner is here to try and take the job that I want…So what does that mean? It means I need to get to it, I need to grind, I need to elevate my game.”

Buchner is bringing a level of experience to the quarterback competition that neither Jalen Milroe or Ty Simpson have quite yet. Still, the pressing urgency that this commitment brings is the most important of it to PicKell. He sees it as an opportunity for every contender to step up and, in turn, elevate the position to a place it didn’t necessarily seem capable of reaching just a week ago.

“Competition, iron sharpens iron. All that? It all applies here,” said PicKell. “So, you’re going to get, in theory, the best version of Ty Simpson, the best version of Jalen Milroe, and the best version of Tyler Buchner.”

“Whichever one of these guys is able to bring the best version of themself to the battle? And whichever one of these guys is able to have the competitive stamina and competitive excellence to win the job? That’s gonna be your starting quarterback.”