Nick Saban confident in Tyler Buchner, credits Tommy Rees for evaluation

Nick Saban likes what he saw out of Tyler Buchner so far, but credited offensive coordinator Tommy Rees for bringing him in.

That much is obvious, considering Rees coached Buchner at Notre Dame. The quarterback was slowed by injuries last season but was solid under center for the Fighting Irish.

Saban was adamant about Rees’ being able to bring Buchner in due to his familiarity at Notre Dame.

“Tommy knew the guy better than anybody could know,” Saban said. “He coached him for a couple of years. So the guy was injured last year so he didn’t get as much experience. I think he started two games, played fairly well. We got the opportunity to see that but Tommy knows him better than anybody else could.”

Saban trusts Rees’ evaluation, otherwise Buchner wouldn’t have a shot at the starting quarterback job. Buchner is in competition with Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson.

But Rees familiarity with Buchner could give him an edge at some point, although that’s just speculation. 

“I think you always know a player when you coach him,” Saban said. “You know what his strengths are, you know what he needs to improve on and I still think that he’s probably getting comfortable with the system. There’s some new terminology in it. 

“I think he’s probably still getting comfortable with the players around him. Because the other guys have been with those guys a little bit more, but I do think there’s really good competition at the position.”

There’s no decision on the quarterbacks yet as Saban played the competition close to the vest once again.

In 13 total games at Notre Dame, Buchner finished with 949 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions. He completed just 56.8% of his passes but saw his production dip in 2022 due to injury, limiting him to three games.

As a member of the Class of 2021, Buchner was a four-star recruit out of La Jolla (Calif.) Helix, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 8 overall prospect in the state, the No. 14 quarterback in the class and the No. 94 overall prospect in the class.

Buchner has just as good of a shot to win the Alabama quarterback job as Milroe or Simpson. He may have familiarity with Rees, but it might not give him a leg up on the competition quite yet.