Notre Dame football: Irish QB competition to continue all offseason long
By Brad Weiss
The battle between Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne to decide who will be the starting quarterback for Notre Dame next season is expected to last months.
For what will be the third season in a row, the Notre Dame football team will have a new face under center to start the first game of the campaign. In 2020, it was veteran Ian Book, who gave way to Jack Coan in 2021, and now, a new face will emerge as the starting quarterback for this Irish program.
The Notre Dame football program seems to be on the brink of new heights, as they are inching their way closer to the likes of Georgia and Alabama. They have made the College Football Playoff fairly regularly in recent years, but have never been considered a legitimate threat to win it all.
With Marcus Freeman at the helm, a talented roster in 2022, and excellent recruits on the horizon, this could be a very special season in South Bend. However, first, they have to decide as to who the starting quarterback will be, and it will come down to Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne in what should be an exciting competition this spring and summer.
Notre Dame football QB competition is as good as it gets
For these two players, they have already proven to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees that they can get the job done in some crucial moments. Pyne took over for an injured Coan against Wisconsin and led the team to a victory inside Soldier Field, while Buchner had the ball in his hands for some big moments as a true freshman last season.
Each player brings a unique skill set to the table, and it will be up to Rees to decide who will take the majority of snaps this season. While I believe both men will play, much like Buchner and Coan shared the majority of snaps last season, one has to emerge in the role Coan played, where he was the unquestioned starter.
This is not a decision that is going to be made during the spring, and you can be sure that the competition for the starting job could come down to the week before the Irish kick off their season against Ohio State. Both men would be starters for plenty of other programs, and for Notre Dame football, having both on the roster is a blessing.