Notre Dame Names Tyler Buchner Starting Quarterback

Notre Dame football and coach Marcus Freeman have named Tyler Buchner the starting quarterback for the team’s opener against Ohio State on Sept. 3.

Buchner, a sophomore, played significant snaps last season for the Irish as he split time with graduate transfer Jack Coan. In his first year as quarterback at Notre Dame, Buchner completed 60% of his passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed the ball 46 times for 336 yards and three scores, averaging 7.3 yards per carry.

Buchner being announced as the team’s starting quarterback is not a huge surprise considering the expectations placed on him as a high school prospect. The California native was one of the top quarterbacks in the country in the 2021 recruiting class as a fringe five-star recruit. He finished at No. 59 in the SI99 rankings for that year’s class.

Buchner will bear the weight of expectations on him as the Irish return a very talented roster for Freeman’s first season as head coach. Freeman served as Brian Kelly’s defensive coordinator a year ago, and was promoted to head coach after Kelly departed the program for LSU.

Notre Dame is preseason No. 5 in the USA TODAY Coaches’ Poll. The AP media poll is set to be released this week, but Notre Dame is expected to be a top 10 team in the initial poll.

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