Former Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner transfers to Alabama

Tyler Buchner needed less than two days to choose his transfer destination after entering the portal Tuesday afternoon. The former Notre Dame quarterback is headed to Alabama and will reunite with former Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, he announced Thursday, ruling out the possibility of withdrawing from the portal to stay with the Irish. He has three seasons of eligibility left.

“My time at Notre Dame allowed me to grow and develop as a football player while building lifelong relationships that were forged under fire,” Buchner said in a statement. “I love my teammates and I will take those relationships with me for the rest of my life.

“Sometimes life brings opportunities that are beyond anything you can imagine and that is what happened today. I know this is the best decision for my future, and I can’t wait to get to Tuscaloosa and begin the next step of my football journey.”

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The Buchner to Alabama possibility surfaced almost immediately after he said he would enter the transfer portal. Alabama has the connection to Rees, who recruited Buchner to Notre Dame and offered him before his high school sophomore season. The Crimson Tide hired Rees as offensive coordinator in February.

Buchner set a visit to Alabama for Tuesday night and arrived less than 24 hours after he officially appeared in the portal. He canceled other visits after seeing Alabama, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

At Alabama, Buchner will enter a quarterback race that doesn’t appear to have a clear favorite among the incumbents. Redshirt sophomore Jalen Milroe and redshirt freshman Ty Simpson combined to go 31-for-63 for 400 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in Alabama’s spring game.

“I like both guys’ athleticism to be able to extend plays and get out of trouble and make plays with their feet, which they did a couple times today,” Nick Saban told reporters after the spring game.

“But at the same time, I think we’ve got to work on going through progressions and develop confidence in the passing game so that we can distribute the ball to other people who can make plays more effectively and more efficiently.”

Like Buchner, Milroe and Simpson were top-100 prospects in their respective classes. Milroe was four spots ahead of Buchner in the 2021 On3 Industry Ranking.

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— Tyler Buchner (@tylerbuchner) April 27, 2023

Buchner was staring at a 2023 season behind Sam Hartman at Notre Dame – the likely outcome when the Irish added Hartman as a grad transfer in January and one that was re-enforced with Hartman’s performance in the Irish’s spring game. Hartman was 13-for-16 for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus a rushing score. Buchner, after some impressive showings in open practices, was 8-for-18 for 44 yards and an interception.

Marcus Freeman, though, said afterward the quarterback competition would continue between Buchner and Hartman, a 45-game starter at Wake Forest.

“I think we still have a quarterback battle,” Freeman said. “You can’t determine a winner or a loser based off one practice, practice 15. And again, you can’t base a decision off of what we view is a certain outcome. There’s a lot that goes into it.”

Buchner won Notre Dame’s starting job last summer, but played only three games due to a shoulder sprain suffered Sept. 10 in a loss to Marshall. He returned for the Gator Bowl and totaled 5 touchdowns in a win over South Carolina. All told, he was 46-for-83 for 652 yards, 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He added 36 carries for 123 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns.

Notre Dame has three scholarship quarterbacks without Buchner: Hartman, sophomore Steve Angeli and freshman Kenny Minchey. The Irish roster sits at 83 scholarship players.