Marcus Freeman comments on Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne returning to Notre Dame
On Dec. 4, news broke that current Alabama backup quarterback and former Irish signal-caller Tyler Buchner would finish up the football season with the Crimson Tide before transferring back to Notre Dame to join Kevin Corrigan’s lacrosse program. Buchner himself confirmed that news in a tweet he posted earlier today.
“I am excited to return to ND to play lacrosse and graduate in May,” Buchner said. “Prior to that, I’ll be continuing my initial commitment to Alabama football through the playoff and finishing what I started. I can’t thank everyone enough for their continued support.”
In an image tweeted by @notredametv Dec. 9, Buchner is pictured sitting next to former Irish quarterback Sam Hartman. They were briefly teammates this past spring before Buchner transferred to Alabama.
Sitting across from Buchner is Irish sophomore quarterback Steve Angeli, who will start for Notre Dame in the Sun Bowl Dec. 29. But what the public didn’t know at the time of the tweet (but was later reported by Blue & Gold) was that sitting next to Angeli was another former Irish quarterback — Drew Pyne, who spent the 2023 season at Arizona State.
Pyne was primed to start for the Sun Devils before suffering an injury in fall camp. After returning from injury, he was only able to appear in two games.
On Dec. 13, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Pyne would be returning to Notre Dame for the spring semester as a student to finish up his degree before transferring to a different school for the rest of his collegiate eligibility.
Neither are expected to re-join the Notre Dame football team. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said Wednesday afternoon during his National Signing Day press conference that he was not involved in the return of his former quarterbacks.
“I had no discussions with those guys coming back here,” he said.
Freeman has said on a handful of occasions that he has no issues with players transferring out of Notre Dame if they get their degree first. Buchner and Pyne left the university without doing so. He’s happy to see their return to get that all-important piece of paper.
“What I do love about it is there is two guys coming back here to get a Notre Dame degree,” he said. “That is — to me — what this thing is all about.
“I did hear about Tyler going to play lacrosse, and I know that’s going to make Coach Corrigan really happy. I wish him all the best, and I know Drew is coming back to get his degree, from what I’ve heard. I haven’t talked to either of them.
“I texted with Drew throughout the year when I saw him doing some good things early in the season. But I didn’t talk to him about his decision to come back here. But I love to hear that two guys are coming back to get their degree.”
Buchner only started in three games for Notre Dame in 2022 due to injury; he played for the Irish against Ohio State and Marshall to open the year and ended the campaign against South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. He completed 46 of 83 passes for 651 yards with 3 passing touchdowns and 5 interceptions on the year. He also ran in 4 scores.
Pyne completed 164 of 254 passes for 2,021 yards with 22 touchdowns and 6 interception in 2022. He added a pair of rushing scores, starting for the Irish when Buchner was out with injury.
