Tag: Tyler Buchner

Notre Dame Week 14 highlight — risky fake punt call pays off against USC

Notre Dame fakes a punt successfully at USC.

Calling a fake punt deep in your own territory, in a tie game, on the road, is a risky proposition. Heck, fake punts are almost always risky propositions.

Yet the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish pulled one off on the road against the USC Trojans in the second quarter.

Facing fourth-down-and-nine from their own 26-yard line, the Irish had [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] take the snap and pass. He found tight end [autotag]Mitchell Evans [/autotag]wide open for 18 yards and the drive stayed alive.

Unfortunately for the Irish, the drive ended with a missed chip-shot field goal from kicker [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag], who has been playing hurt.

Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner enters the transfer portal with a caveat
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA – APRIL 22: Tyler Buchner #12 of Notre Dame Fighting Irish passes during the Notre Dame Blue-Gold Spring Football Game at Notre Dame Stadium on April 22, 2023 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

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Watch: Notre Dame’s Tyler Buchner was a playmaker wide receiver in high school

Tyler Buchner is set to re-join Notre Dame as a wide receiver.

Tyler Buchner is returning to Notre Dame football. But the former quarterback won’t be under center.

Instead, Buchner is set to rejoin the Fighting Irish as a wide receiver.

Buchner was the starting quarterback at Notre Dame for the first part of the 2022 season. He then entered the transfer portal and joined Alabama but only played in two games and threw just 19 passes.

He returned to Notre Dame this spring but not to play football. Rather, Buchner joined the men’s lacrosse team and made 10 appearances this spring.

Notre Dame beat Maryland on Monday to win the national championship.

Coming out of high school, Buchner was a four-star quarterback prospect at Helix High School (La Jolla, California).

But before that, he was a wide receiver who showed plenty of promise as a freshman:

 

In high school, ESPN ranked Buchner as the No. 41 prospect in the class of 2021 and the eighth-best quarterback.

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Watch Tyler Buchner as a High School Wide Receiver

Footage of Tyler Buchner as a wide receiver has been found!

Few, if any, have ever had the college athletic career arc of [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag].

Buchner entered Notre Dame as a four-star quarterback in 2021 and was thought to be the next great Fighting Irish signal caller.

2022 saw him enter the year as the starter but an injury in the second game took away the rest of his regular season, but he was able to return for the Gator Bowl win over South Carolina where he walked away with game MVP honors.

Upon the arrival of [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] from the transfer portal, Buchner transferred to Alabama to reunite with former Irish playcaller [autotag]Tommy Rees[/autotag].  The run did not go well for Buchner as he started one game and struggled mightily.

Buchner returned to Notre Dame this past winter where he joined the lacrosse team.  Now Buchner has announced that he’s returning to the Notre Dame football program but not as a quarterback, instead as a wide receiver.

How will that go?

Matt Freeman of Irish Sports Daily went and dug up old highlights of Buchner playing wide receiver his freshman year of high school.  They’re not against the greatest competition but are certainly worth taking a quick look at below.

All the best to Buchner as his career continues to be an incredibly impressive journey.

Former Irish QB Tyler Buchner is back with Notre Dame football in a very different role

Tyler Buchner is rejoining the Fighting Irish football team, but this time, he’ll be a walk-on receiver.

One of the more interesting stories in college football over the last two seasons took another turn on Friday.

Former Notre Dame and Alabama quarterback Tyler Buchner is rejoining the Fighting Irish for the 2024 season, but this time, it won’t be as a signal-caller. According to Blue and Gold’s Tyler Horka, Buchner is walking onto the football team as a wide receiver.

A native of Evanston, Illinois, Buchner started three games at Notre Dame in 2022 before entering the transfer portal, ultimately landing at Alabama. He struggled with the Tide last fall, appearing in just two games with one start while attempting only 19 passes.

Buchner re-entered the portal for a second time in December, but this time, he did so as a lacrosse player. He ultimately returned to South Bend, helping lead the Irish to a second consecutive national championship as a midfielder.

Following the announcement of his decision to rejoin the football team, Buchner penned a letter to the Notre Dame fanbase.

Notre Dame has always been a place of faith and redemption, but I never imagined the extent of its generosity until the day Coach Freeman allowed me to rejoin the football team as a walk-on. Being able to play the game I have loved since I can remember and playing for Notre Dame had been my dream. I risked it all and believed I had lost it all, as I did not think even returning to football at Notre Dame would be in the cards. As I was leaving Alabama, I had scholarship opportunities to play quarterback elsewhere. Even though I knew I was potentially giving up on my football dreams, I turned them down and told my parents that I would pay my way through school because I only wanted to be at Notre Dame. It would have been easy for the football coaching staff to see me just as a player who had left, but instead, I am grateful they were able to see me as a young man eager to return and contribute in any way I could for the greater good of the team.

We’ll have to wait to see if Buchner is able to contribute this fall in his new role, but after a year away, he’ll be back in a Fighting Irish uniform.

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Former Alabama QB Tyler Buchner to walk on as WR at Notre Dame

Former Alabama QB Tyler Buchner announces his return to the football field as a Notre Dame wide receiver.

Heading into the 2023 college football season, former Alabama Crimson Tide football Nick Saban had a tough decision to make. A three-man competition for the starting quarterback job was underway between Jalen Milroe, Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner. Milroe won the job, but the other two also saw the field.

Milroe and Simpson were both recruited by the Crimson Tide coming out of high school and Buchner joined the program via the transfer portal after beginning his career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Buchner got some meaningful playing time in the Week 3 road matchup against USF, but his performance left a lot to be desired. After that, he didn’t see the field much.

His entrance into the transfer portal in early December of 2023 didn’t surprise many, as he was expected to get more opportunities to play elsewhere. However, seeing that he was transferring as a lacrosse player was a shock to many.

He decided to return to Notre Dame and play lacrosse for the Fighting Irish, a program that won the 2024 NCAA national championship just a few days ago. His football career, though, is not over yet.

In an open letter titled, “Dear Notre Dame, From Tyler Buchner,” the former quarterback discusses his time away from South Bend and what it was like playing at Alabama and under Nick Saban. He also includes an announcement: he will be walking on the Notre Dame football team as a wide receiver.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football news as the 2024 offseason progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Former Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner to walk on as receiver

Welcome back, Tyler!

[autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] has to have had one of the most unique paths in all of college football lately. After two years of quarterbacking at Notre Dame, he transferred to Alabama for the 2023 season but didn’t win the starting job. He then transferred back to Notre Dame and won a national championship with the men’s lacrosse team. Now, he’s coming back to the Irish football team as a walk-on receiver.

Here’s the official announcement by the Irish:

Although Buchner is walking on, he’ll count towards the football program’s 85-scholarship limit if he appears in a game. That will be an interesting decision for the Irish since he has not caught any passes during his time in college football, of which he has two years of eligibility remaining. So it stands to reason he’ll be starting from scratch with the Irish.

Until we find out exactly how his second Irish tenure will go, here are some images from his first time with the program:

Marcus Freeman celebrates Notre Dame lacrosse’s national championship

Celebrating with the champs!

The City of Brotherly Love played host to the NCAA men’s lacrosse final four this weekend with the championship taking place on Monday. Notre Dame routed Maryland in that game to win its second straight national championship.

Many notable Notre Dame personalities were in attendance, including head football coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag].

Freeman took in the championship game last year when Notre Dame beat Duke and returned to see the Irish crowned champions again Monday. After the dominating win, Freeman joined the on-field celebration and even posed for pictures with a few multisport athletes that have played on the Notre Dame football team.

Freeman is of course with (L-R in group photo) Mick Assaf, [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag]. It’s certainly wild to see Notre Dame’s last two bowl game MVPs winning a national championship together in lacrosse.

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Alabama’s Jalen Milroe one of 10 SEC QB’s expected to attend the Manning passing academy

Alabama QB Jalen Milroe expected to attend the Manning passing academy this summer

After an ugly ten-point home loss at the hands of the Texas Longhorns, QB [autotag]Jalen Milroe[/autotag] lost his starting job to Tyler Buchner heading into the USF game in Week 3. With Ty Simpson waiting for a shot to play as well, there was no guarantee that Milroe would ever get his job back with the  Alabama Crimson Tide.

Fast forward three months, Milroe finished No. 6 in the country in the Heisman race and guided the Tide to an SEC championship and a College Football Playoff semi-final berth. Milroe has always been wildly dynamic with the ability to make plays with his feet, but it was his growth as a passer that changed the 2023 season for himself and Alabama.

Now, Milroe will get to work with new head coach Kalen DeBoer who just boosted Washington Huskies QB Michael Penix Jr. into the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

It would have been easy for Milroe to walk away and give up on Alabama last year after being benched, but he dug his heels in and fought. Milroe could have transferred along with a number of other players after Saban’s retirement, but he didn’t. As a result for his willingness to take adversity head on, I think Milroe is due for a massive season.

Milroe is doing all the right things this summer as well as he will be one of 10 SEC quarterbacks attending the Manning Passing Academy this summer. It will be exciting to see what kind of draft position Milroe can play himself into this season.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Tyler Buchner’s insane 18 months between Notre Dame and Alabama

What a wild run for TB12!

When [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] chose Notre Dame as part of the football team’s 2021 recruiting class, the hope was he would help the Fighting Irish win a national championship.

He did, but not like some anticipated.

On Monday, Buchner capped an absolutely wild 18 months.

Buchner was Notre Dame’s starting quarterback in 2022, but he struggled against Ohio State and Marshall before getting injured and missing the rest of the regular season.  He returned for the Gator Bowl and took home game MVP honors after throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for two more in a comeback win over South Carolina.

After Sam Hartman transferred to Notre Dame for the 2023 season, Buchner entered the transfer portal following spring practice, ultimately ending up at Alabama. He started one game for the Crimson Tide last fall, struggled mightily and sat behind Jalen Milroe the rest of the year.

At the conclusion of the regular season, Buchner announced he would return to Notre Dame but not to play football. Instead, the former Fighting Irish starting quarterback joined the reigning national championship lacrosse team, a sport he starred at during high school in California.

On Monday, Buchner and the Fighting Irish capped the incredible season with a dominating, 15-5, win over Maryland in the national championship.  Buchner played in a reserve role this year as expected since he hadn’t played lacrosse competitively in five years.

Whatever the future has in store for Buchner, it’ll be hard to imagine him ever experiencing as crazy of an 18-month run as he just went through.

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Watch: Tyler Buchner Lacrosse Highlights

TB12 like you probably haven’t seen him before…

Much was made earlier this off-season when former Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner announced he was returning to South Bend.  He wasn’t coming back to play football though, instead choosing to pick up his lacrosse stick again and become a part of that program.

This comes after Buchner followed Tommy Rees to Alabama for one season where he wound up starting one game at quarterback for the Crimson Tide.

So now Buchner returns and is set to play a different sport for the Fighting Irish.  Just how good of a lacrosse player is the former starting quarterback?

Finding lacrosse highlights of high school players isn’t nearly as easy finding football highlights but based on how he looked as a freshman in high school, Buchner is one heck of a talent.  Check out the video below from Buchner’s freshman year.

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