Tyler Buchner's Season Comes Full Circle

Tyler Buchner’s season is about to come full circle. The sophomore won the battle to become Notre Dame’s starting quarterback in the offseason, but his reign was quickly over after just two games due to an AC joint sprain of his left shoulder that required surgery.

Buchner’s season was originally thought to be completely lost, but just a little more than 15 weeks later, he stands to be the starter again when the Fighting Irish face South Carolina in the Dec. 30 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

Irish head coach Marcus Freeman originally announced in September that Buchner’s rehab was expected to take until the middle of January before he was healthy enough to return to the field. That process went much faster than expected, even if Buchner himself doesn’t know exactly when he got back on the practice field.

"I think the original plan was, Rob (Hunt) told me like 12 weeks is when your joint (will be) really healthy,” Buchner recalled this past weekend while speaking publicly for the first time since the injury. "I don’t really know the entirety of it. But I hit that point, things were feeling good, and I got back to practice, and I’ve been practicing for a while now.”

He suffered the injury when he was tackled on a quarterback run in the fourth quarter of Notre Dame’s week two upset loss to Marshall. The sophomore didn’t realize he was injured initially because adrenaline masked the pain. Then it kicked in and he knew it was bad.

"At first, obviously, sadness and a little bit of frustration,” Buchner recalled. "I think that's normal. But after that, all sails pointed toward helping his team and supporting Drew (Pyne) and the rest of the room throughout the rest of the year and just try to be as helpful to the team as I could be.”

As Buchner’s rehab and recovery progressed through October and early November, talk began within the program that he might be able to play in Notre Dame’s bowl game. Freeman confirmed that it was a distinct possibility the week before Notre Dame’s season finale at Southern Cal.

The impending return of the season-opening starter, combined with the news that the Fighting Irish were in the market for a transfer portal quarterback did not sit well with Pyne, who went 8-2 as a starter with Buchner sidelined, but decided to enter the transfer portal and is no longer with the team. Pyne’s departure has not affected the relationship he has with Buchner.

"He’s one of my best friends,” Buchner said of Pyne. "We still talk. We’re really close. I just wish the best for him. He’s a really talented player. I just want to see him win. He works really hard, and I wish nothing but the best for him.”

The news of a possible incoming transfer quarterback was also not necessarily a shock to Buchner.

"I honestly figured they'd bring in someone just because there's kind of been rumblings about it, and I understand,” Buchner said. "If somebody gets hurt, you need more depth in the room. You need people.”

Even if a new quarterback does join the team in the spring, the current roster is comprised of three quarterbacks: Buchner, freshman Steve Angeli and sophomore Ron Powlus III. Buchner is at the top of the depth chart now, just like he was at the start of the season.

The San Diego, Calif native hasn’t played for more than 15 weeks, but he spent Notre Dame’s last 10 games watching the offense in the press box with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Time in the booth gave him a unique opportunity that has translated to a different feel for the offense now than the one he began the season with.

"It's definitely helped,” Buchner said of his time in the coach’s booth. "I feel like I sort of look at just the game from a more schematic perspective and more like a coach, just because I've spent a lot of time with coaches this year in the box and other things. So just different understanding of the game, less as like throw a ball here, but like, why are we putting the ball here? Why are we attacking certain places against certain defenses?”

Ten games in the press box is not what Buchner would have ever envisioned this season – the one that saw him earn the job of starting quarterback at Notre Dame – would go. He has spent his first handful of practices shaking off more than three months of rust, but his play has gradually been sharper on the practice field as he gears up for his full circle return in Jacksonville in less than two weeks.

"You never really envision it going this way,” Buchner said. "When you’re announced as the starter and then you’re hurt (in) week two, you lose two games. It's never the way you picture it. But you learn a lot through that. I feel like getting hurt wasn't the worst thing that could have ever happened to me.

"I've learned a lot through it, became a better person,” he continued. “I think I became a smarter football player through it. There's definitely a lot of learning lessons. I've done better in school, have more time. There's certainly things that you can benefit from it.”

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