Drew Pyne returning to Notre Dame to complete degree, will transfer to new school for football after

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, former Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne will be returning to South Bend and enrolling in classes this upcoming January. However, he will not be associated with the Fighting Irish’s football teams. For now, the move is purely about academics.

“Former Notre Dame and ASU QB Drew Pyne tells ESPN he’s enrolling back at Notre Dame in January for the spring semester to earn his degree in American Studies and minor in business economics,” Thamel said via X. “He will not play football at Notre Dame this spring and plans to graduate in May.”

Pyne is not stepping away from football, though. The plan is to play elsewhere during the 2024 season after spending the past year at Arizona State. In order to transfer for a second time in his football career, Pyne needs to graduate.

Taking a full semester’s worth of classes in South Bend will get Pyne a degree and officially make him a graduate transfer. He can then enter the NCAA transfer portal in the summer and find a new football home, where Thamel reports Pyne will have three years of eligibility.

“Pyne’s graduation with the completion of the 15 needed credits will allow him to become a graduate transfer,” Thamel said. “He’ll then join a new program to play college football in June. He’s expected to have three years of eligibility. He’s 8-3 as a starter at both Notre Dame and ASU.”

Pyne played in just two this season for Arizona State, coming in back-to-back weeks against Fresno State and USC. He completed 26 of his 49 pass attempts, going for 273 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Everything did not exactly go to plan in Tempe.

While Notre Dame is not expected to be an option from a football perspective, getting a degree from the school is important to Pyne. He called it a “lifelong dream” to graduate from Notre Dame and he now has the opportunity to do so.

For at least one semester, Pyne will be a normal college student before getting back into football once he walks across the stage with his diploma.

“I’ve decided to return to Notre Dame to earn my degree and finish what I started,” Pyne said in a statement to ESPN. “It means I will fulfill a lifelong dream, and be part of that community forever, which was always very important to me.”