Notre Dame's Quarterback Battle Is A Sign Of Program Strength

The narrative surrounding the Notre Dame quarterback battle is, in a word, odd. One thing that has stood out to me during open practices is how deep the Fighting Irish are at quarterback, with multiple players showing impressive talent at different points.

Right now transfer Sam Hartman and rising junior Tyler Buchner are engaged in a battle for the starting role.

Hartman is making the adjustment to a new offense and new teammates, but he's shown the tools that helped make him the NCAA's 19th all-time leader in passing yards and 18th all-time leader in passing touchdowns.

Buchner is showing the talent and play-making ability that made him a Top 100 recruit and a player Irish fans were fired up about when he signed.

We know who Hartman is, but the fact Buchner has battled so hard this spring is a great sign for Notre Dame. Yet somehow this has turned into a negative, as if it means Hartman isn't as good as advertised.

I realize this has been a weird offseason for Notre Dame, but the there is no way to turn this quarterback battle into a negative. It is without question a great sign of strength at the position, which means big things for the program in 2023.

Here's the reality, if Buchner is making life hard on Hartman is means the odds of Notre Dame putting a big time playmaker on the field at quarterback has risen dramatically. Considering how problematic quarterback has been for the Irish over the years this is a great sign.

It would seem that some believe Hartman should have the entire offense figured out and be on the same page with all of his wide receivers by the 10th practice of the spring. If where Hartman is right now in his transition to Notre Dame is concerning for you I would contend that your expectations or understanding of this process works. Getting a quarterback and receivers who have never played together on the same page takes time, certainly more than 10 practices, and this is amplified when you consider the quarterbacks is learning the offense.

According to multiple sources, Hartman was outstanding in the Saturday scrimmage in advance of the spring game. Hartman is barely a quarter of the way through the practices he'll partake in prior to Notre Dame kicking off its season against Navy.

But Hartman's supposed inability to pull way ahead of Buchner during the spring says a whole lot more about Buchner than it does Hartman. In the open practices, Buchner showed far more consistency from a mechanical standpoint. This has allowed him to be more accurate due to better footwork in the pocket and consistency with his release point. Buchner has been a more consistent thrower, which combines with his dynamic playmaking ability to make him a dangerous player.

If Hartman came in and just blew away the rest of the quarterbacks it would have said more about Buchner and the other quarterbacks in a negative way than it would have signified impending greatness from him.

Hartman is where I expected him to be at this point in the spring, so I'm very encouraged with his progress. My expectations for him, based on what I've seen so far, have only been enhanced. He's attacking down the field and showing good arm strength. As he gets more comfortable with his receivers and the timing required of this offense I fully expect him to pull ahead and be the clear starter by the time we get to the middle of fall camp.

Notre Dame fans should be excited about what Hartman is bringing to the table. There is no doubt about that.

The takeaway from this spring should not be any down feelings about Hartman. The takeaway should be excitement about what Buchner is turning into as a quarterback. We saw his playmaking ability in Notre Dame's Gator Bowl victory over South Carolina when he passed for 273 yards, rushed for 61 more yards and racked up five touchdowns.

We also saw in that game where his game needed work. He missed a few layups in that game and he turned the ball over three times. Imagine what his numbers would have been if he would have made those layups and made a better decision on his final pick. During the spring practices open to the media, and according to my sources, the biggest change for Buchner this spring is his cleaner mechanics are leading to him hitting those layups and he's not making the same misses.

That's an exciting development for the present and future of the quarterback position.

This should be your takeaway, the Notre Dame quarterback room is light years ahead of where it was this time a year ago. That's the narrative that should be dominating, and that reality should have Irish fans fired up.

Following the breakdown of the quarterback position we had our daily mailbag. Our listeners asked a ton of great questions, so we had to break the mailbag into three sections, which you can listen to below. Here is part one:

Here is part two of the mailbag:

Here is part three of the mailbag:

If you'd like to watch the entire show check it out below:

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