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Former QB rejoins Notre Dame football as walk-on wide receiver

Former QB Tyler Buchner returns to Notre Dame as a walk-on wide receiver for the 2024 season, joining the team after playing lacrosse.

By Oliver Vandervoort

Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner (12) during Notre Dame Spring Practice
Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner (12) during Notre Dame Spring Practice / John Mersits / USA TODAY NETWORK
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There’s a ton of excitement around the Notre Dame football team heading into the 2024 season. There is in fact so much excitement that  a former Irish quarterback is coming back. Only he’s not coming back as a quarterback. And he’s not coming back as a scholarship player.

The Tyler Buchner experience has been an interesting one. He left Notre Dame for Alabama hoping he could start for the SEC power. However, things didn’t work out how he’d hoped and last winter returned to South Bend, but to only play lacrosse.

However, after a season that saw the Irish win their second straight national championship, it appears that Buchner can’t kick the Notre Dame football bug. He’s returning to the team as a wide receiver, though he’ll be walking on.

“Notre Dame has always been a place of faith and redemption, but I never imagined the extent of its generosity until the day Coach (Marcus) Freeman allowed me to rejoin the football team as a walk-on,” Buchner said in a statement. “Being able to play the game I have loved since I can remember and playing for Notre Dame had been my dream.”

Notre Dame football adds lacrosse star to the mix

Buchner spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons in South Bend before plunging into the transfer portal to follow former Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to Alabama for the 2023 campaign. However, current Tide starting quarterback Jaden Milroe beat out Buchner to win the starting quarterback competition.

In his one season with the Notre Dame fighting Irish lacrosse program, Buchner appeared in 11 games and had 1 assist and 3 ground balls. Now he’ll become the second lacrosse player to also play for the Notre Dame football team as a wide receiver. He and Jordan Faison are obviously in different spots in their career.

Faison returns after a great freshman season where he was even the Sun Bowl MVP last year. Buchner will have some work to do to get on the field as a receiver, especially after the Irish added several transfers to beef up the position.

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