Tag: Drew Pyne

The latest on Notre Dame’s quarterback situation

Who should Notre Dame start at quarterback vs. Cincinnati?

Drew Pyne was a bit of a hero for Notre Dame as the sophomore quarterback came in the game, helped flip field position, helped deliver a touchdown drive, and ultimately helped the Irish to a victory against favored Wisconsin.

Kelly said after the game of Jack Coan’s injury that “It’s a soft-tissue injury. It doesn’t even respond like a high-ankle sprain, so we’re optimistic we’ll see him back next week.”

When asked about a potential quarterback controversy, Kelly was quick to downplay that and reaffirm who the starter is going forward.

“Jack Coan is our starter. If he’s physically able, he’ll be our starter against Cincinnati.”

So injury dependant we know who Kelly would at least like to start when Notre Dame hosts No. 8 Cincinnati next week.  Coan, Pyne, Kelly and the Irish improved to 4-0 with the 41-13 victory as the Irish remained unbeaten all-time at Soldier Field.

Related:

Notre Dame puts it On Wisconsin: 5 Instant Takeaways

5 Stars: Best and Worst of Notre Dame’s win over Wisconsin

Brian Kelly becomes Notre Dame’s all-time winningest quarterback

 

Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

That was a fun final 15 minutes.

It didn’t always look easy. In fact, it looked downright scary a lot of the time. However, you never can argue with what the scoreboard says when you’re ahead and the clock hits zero. That’s Notre Dame after its 41-13 win over Wisconsin in its Shamrock Series game at Soldier Field. As an added bonus, it allowed Brian Kelly to surpass Knute Rockne as the winningest coach in program history with 106 victories and get a pair of Gatorade baths for the accomplishment.

The fourth quarter began with the Badgers (1-2) threatening to reach the end zone, but the defense that could become more valuable for the Irish (4-0) as the season goes on was able to hold them to a 27-yard field goal from Collin Larsh. That 13-10 Badgers lead lasted all of one play as Chris Tyree returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time the Irish had scored on a kick return since 2016. Suddenly, the Badgers fans who were dancing to “Jump Around” a few minutes earlier weren’t feeling so hot.

The Badgers faced a third down on their next drive. The play that followed resulted in Jayson Ademilola forcing a Graham Mertz fumble on a sack and Isaiah Foskey recovering it. With Jack Coan still on the bench, Drew Pyne completed a 22-yard pass to Michael Mayer to set up the Irish in the red zone. Two plays later, Pyne hit Kevin Austin for a 16-yard touchdown that only could be described as a backbreaker. It was Austin’s second touchdown of the game.

Desperately needing a score, the Badgers advanced to the Irish’s 34-yard line. When the drive stalled out there, Larsh attempted a 52-yard field goal that sailed left. Hope remained alive for the Badgers after the Irish went three-and-out, but Cam Hart quickly picked off Mertz for his second interception of the game. The offense didn’t get far, not that it really needed to at that point, but Jonathan Doerer kicked a 37-yard field goal anyway.

Even with the outcome decided, the Irish’s defense decided it wasn’t done scoring. Jack Kiser came out of nowhere and returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown. That somehow still wasn’t enough for the unit to make its statement. Drew White returned his own interception to the end zone from 45 yards out.

The Irish stomped on the Badgers, then stomped on them again. That’s quite the good feeling, isn’t it? What dominance at the end.

Notre Dame Wisconsin: 5 instant takeaways

What is your biggest takeaway from today’s HUGE WIN? #NDFB

No. 12 Notre Dame entered Saturday as a nearly touchdown underdog against No. 18 Wisconsin but walked out victorious after a dominating defensive performance and some heroics from a speedster wearing No. 25 and a backup quarterback.

With the 41-13 win that Wisconsin actually led at one point of the fourth quarter, Brian Kelly became the winningest head coach in the history of Notre Dame football, passing Knute Rockne.

What were the biggest takeaways from Saturday’s impressive win that came despite many obstacles?

Watch: Pyne finds Austin to extend Notre Dame’s lead over Wisconsin

What a pass from Pyne

Down to their third-string quarterback in Drew Pyne, Tommy Rees the offensive coordinator didn’t bat an eye. Rees had confidence in his quarterback and didn’t abandon the pass with a short lead. He allowed Pyne to throw it around and it payed off.

The third-stringer went 5/5 and found Kevin Austin for the score to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 24-13 over the Badgers. Who would have thought that Pyne would have played, let alone made big plays along the way. Not many of us thought that would happen but it just did and Drew Pyne has made Irish nation extremely proud.

Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin: Third-Quarter Analysis

Oh boy.

Just when it looked like Notre Dame might take control of the game, Wisconsin has come out in the second half looking like a different team. While they haven’t lost control of it, the outcome is a lot more uncertain. We have a 10-10 tie after three quarters.

The Irish’s offense gain no yardage on its first two drives, but something more serious might have happened instead. Jack Coan was sacked on one play and something appeared to happen to his knee. It was serious enough that he went to the locker room, forcing Drew Pyne into action. More on that in a moment.

On the first play of the Badgers’ second possession, Graham Mertz hit Chez Mellusi for a 35-yard completion. He then found Kendric Pryor on two of the next three plays, the latter of which was an 8-yard touchdown pass, Mertz’s first of the season. Hey, it took him long enough.

Pyne had a decent first drive, getting the offense from its own 16-yard line to the Wisconsin 39. That was as far as it got, though it set up Jay Bramblett to punt the ball 37 yards to 7. The Badgers went three-and-out, and a 10-yard punt return by Kyren Williams allowed the Irish to start in Badgers territory. But any hope for a successful drive was immediately dashed when Rodas Johnson forced the ball from Pyne’s hand on the first play and Jack Sanborn recovered to give the Badgers excellent field position.

With basically the equivalent of a big offensive play having just taken place, the Badgers made the most of the opportunity. By the end of the quarter, they had reached the Irish’s 10, though they were moved back to the 11 on a loss. Things are looking grim right now. Let’s hope that changes.

Brian Kelly doesn’t name starting quarterback…yet

Does the delay change your thoughts on who actually ends up winning the job?

After the first day of Notre Dame’s fall camp the belief seemed to be that Brian Kelly was going to officially name the starting quarterback after Thursday’s practice.  That wound up not being the case though as it’ll be at least a few more days before he makes that decision.

“We’re really, really close,” Kelly said. “Really, really, really close. We’re not going to do it here today, but we have an idea who it’s going to be and we want to talk to the kids, probably this weekend. My guess is we’ll have an announcement for you at the start of next week.” – Brian Kelly

The battle is between graduate-transfer Jack Coan, formerly of Wisconsin, and sophomore Drew Pyne, who moved to second on the depth chart last season after an knee injury to Brendon Clark.

It seems like from his words that Kelly’s mind is pretty much made up but that he wants to have a conversation with both quarterbacks beforehand.

I would continue to assume that it’s Coan’s job but as we mentioned multiple times since spring, you can’t help but get some Ian Book type vibes from Pyne in that no matter how much some want to push him to the side and forget about him, he’s still battling for a spot few expected he’d be able to actually compete for.

 

Notre Dame QB commit Angeli gives thoughts on 2021 starting job debate

Who do you think will win the starting job?

Notre Dame is betting big on quarterback commit Steve Angeli, who will join the Irish for the 2022 season. Their high hopes for him have to be ascended after the performance he’s put on at Rivals camp this week. It’s interesting to watch given that the Irish still aren’t sure who will start at quarterback for them in 2021. Angeli was asked about it at the camp, and here’s what he had to say:

Yeah, it’s not a very exciting answer, but given that he’s mostly on the outside looking in aside from conversations with Tommy Rees, it shouldn’t be a surprise. The truth is the Irish have very viable candidates in Jack Coan, Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner, and none of them emerged as a lead candidate during the spring practices. It’s possible we won’t get an answer until shortly before the Irish open their season in prime time at Florida State. While you might not want to hear that, it is what it is.

Notre Dame post-spring positional breakdown: quarterbacks

Will the starting quarterback in Week One be the starter in November?

Spring football has come and gone for Notre Dame in 2021 and the next time we see the Fighting Irish football team will be when they start camp for the regular season.

In that time more will come in figuring out positional battles and where things fall.

For the first time in seemingly forever, Notre Dame goes into the season without a known commodity at starting quarterback as Ian Book, the winningest quarterback in program history is off to the New Orleans Saints.

So how does Notre Dame’s depth chart at quarterback set up for the 2021 season?

Here is what we know at the conclusion of spring ball:

Notre Dame spring game: Five questions that could be answered

Who steps up this afternoon?

The final taste of football is upon us, this weekend is the culmination of Notre Dame’s spring practice ending with the Blue and Gold game.

Heading into the season, there will be plenty of question surrounding the program, the biggest is undoubtably the quarterback position. Find out five question that could be answered during Saturday’s controlled scrimmage.

Former Wisconsin and current Notre Dame QB Jack Coan is locked in a quarterback battle in South Bend

Jack Coan’s Wisconsin career neither started nor finished how anybody hoped it would. First, he took over for an injured Alex Hornibrook

Jack Coan’s Wisconsin career neither started nor finished how anybody hoped it would.

First, he took over for an injured Alex Hornibrook during the 2018 season, losing to the Northwestern Wildcats in his first full game as a starter.

Then 2019 happened. Coan started the full year for the Badgers and led them to a 10-4 (7-3 Big Ten) record and Rose Bowl appearance. Even though the Coan-led Badgers battled and lost to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship and narrowly lost to Oregon in the Rose Bowl, his play during the year forecasted a productive final season in 2020.

But Coan broke his foot before the season began, continuing to rehab all year while the Badgers played to a 4-3 (3-3 Big Ten) record.

The promise was there for Coan as a Wisconsin Badger. But in an understandable move, the senior transferred to Notre Dame to play his final year of eligibility.

The Fighting Irish, now, are fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance and one of their best seasons in recent memory. With QB Ian Book gone from that 2020 team, early indications saw Coan taking over the starting job for the 2021 season.

However, Notre Dame’s spring practice is not seeing that as a foregone conclusion. Instead, Coan is locked in a quarterback battle with sophomore Drew Pyne.

The Associated Press article quotes Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly talking about the spring position battle.

“What do we want from Drew Pyne?” Kelly said. “We want him to be the starter. We’re not handing this job to Jack Coan. Drew is built for this. He’s always been told that he’s not good enough, can’t be the starter or can’t win. It just motivates him even more.”

This is a story to watch for Badger fans with Wisconsin and Notre Dame set to square off at Soldier Field in September.

First, because the winner of the battle will start against Paul Chryst’s team.

But second, because Coan led the Badgers to a largely successful season just two years ago. Seeing him line up behind the opposing team’s center is still a weird scene to imagine.

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