Notre Dame QB Tyler Buchner participating in 'parts of practice'

When Notre Dame lost to Marshall, it looked like the season was already over for the Irish. They were 0-2 and starting quarterback Tyler Buchner was lost for the season due to a shoulder injury. Since then, Notre Dame has found itself, managing to be ranked in the top 20 of the College Football Playoff rankings, with a record of 7-3. Still, the Irish haven’t gotten to that point without growing pains, especially on the offense.

Now, Tyler Buchner has returned to “parts of practice” for Notre Dame, according to head coach Marcus Freeman.

He is only practicing in a limited capacity following shoulder surgery that he had to have in September. However, the fact that Buchner is able to be practicing at all is still a good sign that he is on pace with his recovery.

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Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner is "participating in parts of practice," per head coach Marcus Freeman. Buchner had shoulder surgery in mid September.

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) November 17, 2022

Injuries have started to stack up now for Buchner, who also missed the Spring Game in 2022 with an injury that he suffered away from football. This has led to some concerns about his long-term durability as a running quarterback.

In 2021, Buchner appeared in 10 games, mostly as a running threat from the quarterback position. This gave the Notre Dame offense a change of pace when it struggled at times. Then, during the offseason, he beat out Drew Pyne to be the starting quarterback. He started the first two games before getting injured. Pyne took over at that point.

The quarterback competition at Notre Dame is up in the air moving forward. Buchner will likely need to win his job back from Pyne. Meanwhile, the coaching staff may decide to bring in competition from the transfer portal. Notre Dame doesn’t currently have a Class of 2023 quarterback committed. However, recent Pitt decommit Kenny Minchey is a four-star quarterback with a 96.5% chance of committing to Notre Dame, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine.

Should Drew Pyne have started over Tyler Buchner?

There has been some question about whether Drew Pyne was the better option from the start and if he should have been the guy over Tyler Buchner to begin with. However, head coach Marcus Freeman rejected this notion.

“No, I don’t question that decision at all. That was earned. That was earned through practice and we made a decision. Sometimes, the results can put a mask over your eyes and cloud the process of getting to that decision. I know we didn’t win that game and three quarters that Tyler played but Tyler Buchner earned the right to be the starter through preparation,” Marcus Freeman said.

“Now, Drew Pyne has done a superb job and he’s done an excellent job leading this team. He’s earned the right to now be our starting quarterback and done a great job with this opportunity. But no, I don’t question our decision in terms of making Tyler the starter to start the year.”