What a team would be getting in Notre Dame quarterback transfer Tyler Buchner

It was during a meeting early Tuesday that Tyler Buchner informed Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman of the news that ended up becoming public a short while later.

Now, with Buchner officially in the NCAA transfer portal, the redshirt sophomore quarterback will go through the process of weighing options that could include a potential reunion with former Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees at Alabama, maybe transferring to a different QB-needy team or possibly even a return to Notre Dame, which he didn’t rule out during his conversation with Freeman.

There isn’t a clear answer as of yet.

Nevertheless, there are other aspects of this that a lot of people are probably curious about, too. For example, what would a team actually be getting in Buchner? Is Alabama really an ideal fit? Or is there another program that would represent a better partnership for both sides?

To be able to better provide those answers, On3 spoke with multiple coaching and personnel sources familiar with Buchner.

The background

A Class of 2021 top-100 recruit, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Buchner opened last season as Notre Dame’s starting QB before suffering a long-term shoulder injury during the Irish’s 26-21 loss to Marshall in Week 2, which he finished 18 of 32 passing for 201 yards with two rushing touchdowns and two interceptions.

After missing the next 10 games, the California native returned to start Notre Dame’s Gator Bowl matchup against South Carolina and helped the Irish pull out a 45-38 win. Although he threw three interceptions, including two pick-sixes, Buchner accumulated 273 passing yards, 61 rushing yards and five total touchdowns (three passing, two rushing).

While Notre Dame then added Wake Forest star QB Sam Hartman during the winter, a source told On3 that Buchner was having “a hell of a spring,” displaying “a lot” of improvement and providing a real challenge for Hartman in the competition for the Irish’ starting quarterback job until the separation that occurred during Notre Dame’s spring game on Saturday.

Hartman finished 13 of 16 for 189 yards with two passing touchdowns, one rushing score and no interceptions. Buchner, meanwhile, was 8 of 18 for 44 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.

“Buchner held his own all spring,” a source said. “They were tight. And then for some reason in the spring game, Hartman just kind of separated himself.”

What now?

It’s no secret that Buchner has interest in Alabama and possibly reuniting with Rees, who has a very much unsettled quarterback competition ongoing between redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe and Class of 2022 five-star recruit Ty Simpson.

However, it doesn’t seem like it’s just a foregone conclusion that Buchner ends up in Tuscaloosa.

It’s also fair to question whether Alabama is the best possible option for Buchner, even factoring in the relationship and history with Rees, who recruited him and then coached him the last two seasons at Notre Dame.

“I think the offense needs to fit him,” a coaching source said. “I think he has the ability. I think he’s really good at running the ball. He’s very athletic and very quick. He makes people miss in space. He can definitely hurt you with his legs. I think he has the arm strength and everything to make the throws. He’s just very inconsistent and sometimes he makes decisions that you’re just like, ‘What are you doing?’ And I don’t know if the system (at Notre Dame) necessarily fit him.

“I think he excels being able to use his legs, get in space and add that kind of element to the game. I think that’s what kind of helps him and makes him feel more comfortable because you could even see in the bowl game when he ran a Q counter down near the goal line and he takes off and scores. That’s his forte. I think that’s where he excels is being able to use his legs to beat defenders and create space and extend plays. I don’t think it’s best to ask him to sit back and sit in the pocket and be like a pro-style quarterback.” 

A school that coach mentioned unprompted as a potential good fit: Auburn under new head coach Hugh Freeze, which has been on the lookout for a potential transfer QB addition since the winter to add to a room currently led by redshirt sophomore and returning starter Robby Ashford.

In 12 games last year, including nine starts, Ashford ran for 710 yards and seven touchdowns but completed just 49.2 percent of his passes with totals of 1,613 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns and seven interceptions.

“What Hugh Freeze wants to do at like Auburn makes sense to me with Buchner,” the coach said. “I think he’d be able to excel doing all the RPOs and everything like that that Hugh Freeze does. I think that fits him. But when you ask him to sit there in the pocket and make decisions based off of coverages and the coverage gives him one read pre-snap and then another post-snap, he sometimes struggles reading that and then he makes some of those poor decisions.”