Brian Kelly provides update on Notre Dame quarterback situation

Notre Dame has three mouths to feed in its quarterback room in Jack Coan, Tyler Buchner, and Drew Pyne. Coan opened the season as the starter before suffering an injury. In Week 5, Pyne led the team in passing in a loss to Cincinnati. In Week 6, it was Buchner that led the Irish to a win over Virginia Tech.

After Notre Dame’s Week 7 bye, head coach Brian Kelly has given an update on the state of the quarterback room entering Saturday’s home date with USC. Kelly views Coan as his starter, although it appears Buchner still has a role moving forward.

“From a quarterback standpoint Jack Coan continues to be the guy that we feel like gives us the best chance to win,” Kelly said. “A mixture of him with Tyler Buchner. I think both of them, Drew has done some really good things for us. And if we feel like we’re in a situation where we need to call on him, we would. But I think right now as we look at it, it’s in my mind that Jack would start and we’ll continue to get Tyler more playing time.”

Kelly: Buchner wears down defenses, which impacts late game situations

Buchner adds a different dynamic to the quarterback position for Notre Dame. Pyne and Coan don’t have a lot of rushing ability, but Buchner does. Buchner is the team’s second leading rusher with 167 yards and a touchdown on 26 attempts. This helps wear down defenses throughout a game.

“Let’s look at it from this perspective. When has he looked really good late in the game? Those defensive linemen are chasing Tyler Buchner around. They’re tiring out a little bit. So, that pass rush is not quite the same in the first series or the second series as it is in the last series,” Kelly said. “There’s a little bit of that. Jack speeds up a little bit and those late drives where the ball comes out a little bit quicker, there’s more of a sense of urgency.

“I think it’s a little bit of both. I think the pass rush tends to lay down a little bit later in the game as those guys are running sideline to sideline having to chase all game. And then I think Jack’s sense of urgency in terms of getting the ball out is a lot more deliberate. So, I think we gleaned a lot from that in our bye week in terms of what we needed to work on maybe earlier in the game for Jack and being more efficient.”

Keeping Notre Dame’s quarterbacks together has been key

Coan has thrown for 1,208 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions this season. He is completing 62.1 percent of his passes. Pyne is completing half of his passes with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. In addition to his rushing stats, Buchner is 9-of-20 passing for 191 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Keeping the quarterback room together has been important for Notre Dame.

“It starts with who you recruit to Notre Dame and the character of the kid makes a lot of those things go away,” Kelly said of keeping the quarterbacks together. “The issues of being selfish or not wanting to see others succeed. That selflessness has to be part of what you’re looking for when you recruit. Now, they’re all competitive, they all want to play. But I think if you’re transparent and you’re face-to-face with them and what you say is what you do, you build that relationship with them.

“Then you’re going to have a room that the guys will work together. I don’t think you ever get it where it’s like, ‘I’m so happy not to be the starter.’ But you you get respect and you get guys working together. Those guys cheer for each other and want them to succeed. And if Drew Pyne goes in there, those two guys will want him to succeed because they generally respect him for the work that he does. That’s what you try to build.”