On3 Roundtable: Questions remain for Alabama at QB, starting with Tyler Buchner

When Alabama started spring practice, fans were hoping to find out who the starting quarterback would be. Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson battled it out through the A-Day spring game, but neither emerged as the clear starter.

Then, Nick Saban called an audible. He dove into the transfer portal and brought in Tyler Buchner from Notre Dame. Of course, Buchner — who lost his own quarterback competition to Sam Hartman this spring — is no stranger to a Tommy Rees offense. He was the Fighting Irish’s starter last year before getting hurt and, ultimately, returning against South Carolina in the Gator Bowl.

Now, he and Rees are reunited in Tuscaloosa. But, according to BOL publisher Tim Watts, Buchner doesn’t solve Alabama’s quarterback dilemma. After all, he only appeared in 13 games over two years, and he spent most of that time behind Jack Coan in 2021. In total, Buchner threw for 949 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions in South Bend.

That’s why the questions might start with Buchner.

“The one thing that’s interesting to me, I don’t really know what to make of Tyler Buchner,” Watts told J.D. PicKell on On3 Roundtable. “I mean, I’ve seen a lot of opinions, but there’s not a lot of football film of him at Notre Dame. I’ve seen the South Carolina [game]. I think you’ve got to kind of put a little asterisk by it because South Carolina wasn’t a great defensive team and missing some guys. But he certainly looked good there. Then, there were other games he didn’t look particularly good.

“But I don’t feel Notre Dame had the same offensive talent that Alabama has. You look at Alabama, they’ve got a pretty elite wide receiver group, they’ve got a stud running back room, they’ve got an offensive line. They figure out left tackle … they’re going to be able to run the ball. We know Tommy Rees wants to do that. I think Buchner’s looking at the same thing the rest are. But he does know Tommy Rees’ system. Even though it’s going to have a heavy Nick Saban flavor, he does know Tommy Rees’ system. That familiarity certainly helps him there.”

BOL’s Tim Watts: Whoever wins Alabama quarterback competition needs ‘some help’

Alabama fans watched Bryce Young blossom into a Heisman Trophy winner and eventual No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft the last two seasons. He followed Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa, who also became first-round picks, and eventual second-round pick and MVP candidate Jalen Hurts. That means the Crimson Tide has had plenty of talent under center in recent years.

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But, as Watts pointed out, Alabama hasn’t always had first round-caliber quarterbacks under Saban. Milroe, Simpson and Buchner don’t appear to fit that first-round model, either.

What will show Alabama’s true colors this year, Watts said, is how the rest of the roster steps up.

“I think he’s got to do the same thing everybody does to win the job,” Watts said of Buchner. “First, it’s going to start with the talent around him. You go back to Alabama’s old teams — Jacob Coker, Blake Sims, AJ McCarron, Greg McElroy — they weren’t first-round picks. He was how much talent they’ve got around him. So a lot of those guys have to step up and help whichever quarterback it is because you’re not looking at a top-10, top-15 pick in the first round of next year, whoever is the starter. You’re not looking at that type of guy.

“So they’re inexperienced for the most part, and need some help. I think Buchner’s looking at the same thing they are.”