Marcus Freeman explains how Notre Dame will approach its starting QB competition

Marcus Freeman is enjoying everything that comes with the Notre Dame quarterback competition prior to naming the starting quarterback for the Fighting Irish.

To illustrate, two talented signal callers will be battling for the right to begin the season as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback — Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne. During an appearance on SportsCenter on Thursday, Freeman explained how the Fighting Irish are approaching their ongoing competition as the season gets closer.

“It’s been great. Coach [Tommy] Rees, our offensive coordinator, has done a great job in terms of developing a healthy competition within that room,” stated Freeman. “The entire quarterback room is extremely close, but they also know that there’s only one quarterback. So, they compete every day. They competed in spring ball, and I look forward to seeing their competition as we start fall camp.

“At some point we’re going to have to name a starter, I believe that somebody is going to have to take the reins. But it’s been really, really good to have, and I look forward to having this competition in the fall.”

Last season, Buchner completed 21 of 35 pass attempts, amassing 298 passing yards and three passing touchdowns while throwing three interceptions. Additionally, he made the most of his time on the field with his legs, rushing for 336 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 46 attempts.

Meanwhile, Pyne has passed for 236 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in limited action over the last two seasons. While Pyne hasn’t thrown an interception, he doesn’t bring the rushing threat that Buchner does, as he hasn’t done much more than scrambling with his legs.

Time will tell who Marcus Freeman and company decide to roll with, but Notre Dame has some interesting options at quarterback moving forward.

Marcus Freeman weighs in on Notre Dame’s future as an independent

The talk of the college football world is what will Notre Dame do as it pertains to conference realignment, and if they’ll end up joining either the Big Ten or SEC.

Entering his first season leading the Fighting Irish, head coach Marcus Freeman gave some interesting thoughts on the matter during an appearance on Get Up on ESPN.

“Listen, I depend on our President, our Athletic Director — Father [John] Jenkins and Jack Swarbrick — to make those big decisions,” responded Freeman. “One thing I know is I really enjoy every time you bring that up. Programs are talking about what Notre Dame is going to do. We love that. We love being independent. Our program really was built on being independent.

“I think as long as we can continue to do that, we will. But I know they will never put our program in a position to fail. So if we have to join a conference, I’m sure we will.”

As you can see, Marcus Freeman isn’t pressing for Notre Dame to make a move to a conference, but he’ll welcome whatever move the Fighting Irish decide to make.