Examining Notre Dame's quarterback situation versus South Carolina

In an instant, Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner’s season looked to be over.

The sophomore quarterback ran to his left, trying to get a first down. With two defenders going after him, Marshall’s Steven Gilmore Jr. rammed into Buchner’s non-throwing shoulder as he hit the ground hard. Buchner slowly got to his feet but something wasn’t right.

After Notre Dame’s 26-21 loss to the Thundering Herd, Buchner needed surgery that would put him out of action until January.

At the time, Notre Dame’s quarterback situation looked bleak, compiled with an 0-2 start. But heading into bowl season, things might be looking up.

Irish head coach Marcus Freeman provided an update on Buchner’s recovery.

“He’s full go,” Freeman said Sunday. “He’s practiced the past two days in practice.”

There’s a possibility that Buchner could start against South Carolina in the Gator Bowl, although Freeman is keeping his options open.

“We still have three quarterback’s on the roster,” Freeman said. “You have Tyler Buchner, Steve Angeli and Ron Powlus. All have been practicing the past two days that we practiced and could see any of the three play. They’ll all be ready to play.”

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With three weeks until the bowl game, here’s a look at Notre Dame’s quarterback options.

Tyler Buchner

Drew Pyne started for the past 10 games, and he played well in Buchner’s absence.

Pyne, a junior, threw for 2,021 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. He had four games with three or more touchdown passes. He even threw for a career-high 318 yards in the regular season finale against Southern California.

Despite his good play, he announced that he was entering the transfer portal and will not play in the bowl game.

“Drew was tremendous,” Freeman said. “You hate to see him leave and enter the portal, but as I told him in our meeting, what he’s done for the program, the ability for him to step in the end of week two versus Marshall and then throughout the season, he did a tremendous job.”

That brings the Fighting Irish back to Buchner.

Even before his injury, his play never jumped off the page. In a two-game sample size this season, he’s thrown for 378 yards and two interceptions. Both interceptions came against the Herd, one of which was a game-sealing pick-six in the fourth quarter.

As a freshman, Buchner only played sparingly. His most action came against Virginia Tech on Oct. 9, 2021, when he completed 6-of-14 passes for 113 yards with a touchdown and two picks. He’d only throw for two more touchdowns that year, but he did make an impact with his legs, running for 336 yards and three scores.

Unless something changes, Buchner should be starting against South Carolina. He has the most experience among the quarterbacks on the roster after Pyne’s departure.

Steve Angeli

Angeli served as the backup quarterback when Pyne started. He hasn’t seen the field much, only coming in against UNLV and Syracuse — both blowouts.

Since he’s only appeared in two games, Angeli will be able to redshirt, which has been Freeman’s plan.

“We made a decision a couple of weeks ago when we played him in a second game that if we can redshirt Steve Angeli, we will,” Freeman said in November.

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This gives the freshman a chance to start if Buchner cannot play. It would be the first start of his college career.

Coming out of high school in New Jersey, Angeli was a three-star recruit by On3. He committed to Notre Dame in March 2021. As a senior, he completed 68 percent of his passes for 1,717 yards, with 15 touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 218 yards and four scores. He was ranked as the No. 143 best player in the country.

There’s also the option of running a two-quarterback system in the Gator Bowl. This is something the Irish did with Buchner and Jack Coan last year under former head coach Brian Kelly.

Coan was the starter, but Buchner would be put in as an occasional runner. The same could be done between Buchner and Angeli, depending on how the next few weeks of practice go.

Ron Powlus III

Powlus is a familiar name to Irish fans. His father, Ron II, was a four-year starting quarterback for the Irish. He’s currently the senior associate athletics director for football.

The younger Powlus has served as the team’s third-string quarterback this season. He hasn’t seen any time on the field yet.

Before arriving on campus, he was a three-star recruit in high school. He committed to the Irish in December 2020. He held offers from Kentucky, Bowling Green, Buffalo Central Michigan and Yale.

As a senior at Penn High School in Mishawaka, Indiana, he threw for 1,435 yards and 12 touchdowns with five interceptions.

South Carolina will play Notre Dame in Jacksonville on Dec. 30 at 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ABC.

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