Notre Dame Commit Tyler Buchner is an SI All-American Candidate

A key ingredient to competing for and winning national titles is getting excellent play from the quarterback position, which means recruiting, landing and developing elite players at the position.

That is what the Notre Dame staff saw in La Mesa (Calif.) Helix quarterback Tyler Buchner when he camped in South Bend after his freshman season, which earned him an offer from the Irish.

By ultimately landing Buchner, Notre Dame has not only found its quarterback of the future, it has a player with the talent to be the cornerstone of a title run.

Buchner is a SI All-American candidate, and SI Director of Football Recruiting John Garcia has broken down the standout quarterback's game.

Prospect: Tyler Buchner, Quarterback

Status: SI All-American Candidate

Vitals: 6-foot-2, 200 pounds

Position: Quarterback

School: La Mesa (Calif.) Helix

Committed to: Notre Dame

Frame: Broad, muscular build on adequate frame. Some room to add weight down the line.

Athleticism: Few quarterbacks have the ‘juice’ Buchner does as a pure athlete. Despite a major knee injury in 2018, he bounced back with head-turning 1,610-yard rushing total as a junior. When he takes off with the football he can beat angles with acceleration and hold up with above-average long speed, too. Buchner gets to top speed in a hurry. Runs with great body control and balance in the open field and at the tail-end of plays.

Instincts: Natural feel inside the pocket with consistently strong sliding ability to climb the pocket or evade the initial defender. Can move behind the pocket to provide targets with more time. Very comfortable off platform. Unafraid to take risks and push the football down the field.

Polish: Classic, three-quarter release point with quick and fluid delivery. Strong pocket presence and athleticism fit well with rational internal clock. Has enough velocity to drive the ball but awareness to know when to take something off of it, too. Anticipates well, especially vertically. Uses athleticism to square up while on the run, where he flashes the ability to drop his arm angle at times.

Bottom Line: Buchner has the dual-threat tools, including a pure arm and gaudy prep production to immediately be the man at Notre Dame. He’s gone through physical adversity, played in multiple offensive systems and excelled anyway. There’s an ‘it’ quality with the future Irish quarterback that seems easy to bet on when projecting him to be the face of a major college football program one day.

You can also read my film evaluation of Buchner, who is the top graded player in the 2021 class for the Irish.

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