:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72215548/1453875145.0.jpg)
On Tuesday, Notre Dame Fighting Irish QB Tyler Buchner announced on social media that he will enter the transfer portal.
“I love Notre Dame. The people, and especially my teammates, are what makes this play special to me. I have decided to enter the transfer portal in order to explore my options, and decide what is best for my future. After discussions with coach Freeman, remaining at Notre Dame is thankfully an option I’m going to consider. I am truly thankful to everyone for their support during this process.”
— Tyler Buchner (@tylerbuchner) April 25, 2023
Ever since the addition of Sam Hartman in the winter, people have debated about when Tyler Buchner might eventually enter the transfer portal. Marcus Freeman made it a point to keep up the “quarterback competition” theme throughout spring practice to keep Buchner engaged and playing for Notre Dame.
While many reports this spring have suggested that Buchner did very well in practices, and had outplayed Hartman at times — the Blue-Gold Game showed something else entirely. Sam Hartman clearly looked like he’s ready to have a phenomenal season in South Bend, and Buchner looked like a player that was many steps behind — even disinterested at times.
Given the fact that this has been one of the most “closed-door” springs in recent memory, it’s hard to know what really went on over the last couple of months.
Even though Buchner has entered the portal, his wording does suggest a possible return to Notre Dame if he doesn’t find a better situation. Tyler is set up to be Notre Dame’s starter in the 2024 and 2025 seasons should he return, which would (theoretically) mean a QB competition in 2026 between junior CJ Carr and Senior Kenny Minchey (like I said... theoretically).
We will just have to wait to see how all of this plays out for 2023.
2023 Notre Dame Football Scholarship Chart
| Position / Year | Freshmen | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | 5th/6th Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position / Year | Freshmen | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | 5th/6th Year |
| Quarterback | Kenny Minchey | Steve Angeli | - | - | Sam Hartman |
| Running Back | Jeremiyah Love | Jadarian Price, Gi'Bran Payne | Audric Estime | - | Devyn Ford |
| Tight End | Cooper Flanagan | Eli Raridon, Holden Staes | Mitchell Evans, Davis Sherwood | Kevin Bauman | - |
| Wide Receiver | Braylon James, Rico Flores, Jaden Greathouse, Kaleb Smith | Tobias Merriweather | Deion Colzie, Jayden Thomas | Chris Tyree | Matt Salerno |
| Center | - | Ashton Craig | Pat Coogan | - | Zeke Correll |
| Guard | Sam Pendleton, Joe Otting, Chris Terek | Billy Schrauth | Rocco Spindler | - | Andrew Kristofic |
| Tackle | Sullivan Absher, Charles Jagusah | Ty Chan, Aamil Wagner | Blake Fisher, Joe Alt | Michael Carmody, Tosh Baker | - |
| Defensive Tackle | Boubacar Traore, Devan Houstan | Tyson Ford, Donovan Hinish | Gabe Rubio | Aidan Keanaaina, Rylie Mills | Howard Cross |
| Defensive End | Brenan Vernon, Armel Mukam | Joshua Burnham, Aiden Gobaira, Junior Tuihalamaka | Jason Onye | Jordan Botelho | NaNa Osafo-Mensah, Javontae Jean-Baptiste |
| Linebacker | Drayk Bowen, Preston Zinter, Jaiden Ausberry | Nolan Ziegler, Jaylen Sneed | - | - | Jack Kiser, Marist Liufau, JD Bertrand |
| Safety | Adon Shuler, Ben Minich | - | - | Xavier Watts, Ramon Henderson | D.J. Brown, Thomas Harper, Antonio Carter |
| Cornerback | Micah Bell, Christian Gray | Jayden Mickey, Benjamin Morrison | Ryan Barnes, Chance Tucker | Clarence Lewis | Cam Hart |
| Specialists | - | Bryce McFerson (P) | - | - | Michael Vinson (LS), Spencer Shrader (K) |
| Totals | 23/85 (23) | 43/85 (20) | 56/85 (13) | 66/85 (10) | 83/85 (17) |
Loading comments...