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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