This Guy Plays Notre Dame Football: #10 Drew Pyne, Quarterback

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have a roster full of players, and we want to talk about them all. One Foot Down’s player profile series will, once again, take a look at every single one of them, and hopefully we all learn a little bit more about these guys, and Notre Dame’s chances for the upcoming 2021 season.

#10 Drew Pyne, Quarterback

Drew Pyne hails from New Canaan High School in Connecticut. He was an early enrollee last year, so he was able to play in the 2020 season. He was third string QB behind Ian Book and Brendon Clark. Brendon Clark, though, contracted Covid-19 when the Irish had their one outbreak of the season surrounding the game against USF. Clark also re-injured his ACL after the one game he played in - Pittsburgh - so that left him benched in the back half of the season, leading our guy Drew Pyne here to be the direct backup to Ian Book.

In 2020, Drew played in just two games. Both were in garbage time - one for a good reason, and one for a bad reason. The good reason game was against USF when the Irish were dominating the Bulls. He went 1-for-2 on pass attempts for just 5 yards. Many of the Irish games were not blowouts, so Pyne did not see much action. With trips to the ACC Title Game and the College Football Playoff on the line, Book stayed in at the end of most games. The next game we saw Drew was the playoff game against Alabama. He went 1-for-1 on pass attempts in that game at the end of a game where the score was closer than the game (but the Irish covered!).

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Restaurant That Fits

Sally’s Apizza

Sally’s Apizza is apprently one of the best places to get New Haven-style pizza in New Haven, CT (this is not my opinion, I have never had it, I’ve only heard talk of this). Since Drew is from Connecticut, he receives this restaurant. He also is in the QB competition for next season with Jack Coan. So, he is this retaurant because he might be the best option at QB, and some people think New Haven-style pizza is the best type of pizza in the country.

2021 Outlook

As I just mentioned, Drew Pyne is getting some first-team reps in spring practice. It seems that Jack Coan would be the starter, but Drew is not going to go into this competition lying down to the older, more experienced QB. Drew is looking to earn a spot at the very least as a solid backup. Most people are probably expecting him to be #2 behind Jack Coan, but we also can’t forget about Tyler Buchner trying to climb the ranks, too. Drew has many years to prove himself, as he actually still has four years of eligbility left after the Covid season last year and only playing 2 of the allotted 4 redshirt games anyway. It will be interesting to see how much playing time Drew receives next season and in seasons beyond.