Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MARCH 2021 29 2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE quarterback, he'd be one of the best safeties in the nation," current Bish- op's head coach and former Notre Dame safety Shane Walton said. DISSECTING A TEENAGE QUARTERBACK Around the end of his junior year of high school, Buchner solicited the services of a new private quarterback coach in Taylor Kelly. Their pair went to work on Buchner's short to inter- mediate accuracy, which required a slight change to his throwing motion. As with any mechanical adjust- ment, it takes months of concentra- tion and repetition for consistency to ensue. The objective was to get him ready for fall with a transfer to Helix Charter High School in La Mesa, Ca- lif., for his senior season ahead. Shortly after, the 2020 Elite 11 Fi- nals were announced on June 19. The multi-day competition among the na- tion's best prep quarterbacks was to begin 10 days later. Throughout the three-day event, Bu- chner struggled. He often overthrew his intended target, or his passes zipped behind a slanting receiver. "Someone messed with the Notre Dame commit's mechanics as a side- arm, baseball sling is occurring often now," Rivals' national recruiting di- rector Mike Farrell wrote. "This leads to all sorts of issues from accuracy to the ball hanging at times. This was an odd performance." Yet, given more time, it appears those mechanical concerns have waned. Other quarterback coaches who have worked with Buchner since haven't encountered a pat- tern of erratic throws. Are there still needed tweaks? Of course, he's 18. Many of the criticisms levied his way were overblown — more so prod- ucts of the limited opportunities to evaluate prospects throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. But perhaps, the repugnant feed- back Buchner received post-Elite 11 prepared him for the, at times, irra- tional critiques he'll receive via social media in South Bend. In his three years as a starter, quarterback Ian Book was ridiculed on Twitter to the point he deleted the social platform's app from his phone. ONWARD TO OUR LADY Starting with his ACL injury, Bu- chner worked with Derek Samuel, a physical therapist in the San Diego area. Samuel rehabs and trains both prep and professional athletes, in- cluding several current and former NFL players like Darren Sproles, Car- son Palmer and Manti Te'o. "On a daily basis, I have to remind myself I'm talking to an 18-year-old who hasn't gone to college yet," Sam- uel said. "That's a very tricky posi- tion to have Tyler in because he's so mature mentally, the kid is so smart. He's got such a high IQ. "Then you see what he can do physically, you simply have to remind yourself this is someone who's never even been in a dorm room before." That is, until early February when Buchner's parents dropped him off at Notre Dame as a mid-year enrollee. Now, his development will résumé within the confines of the Irish Ath- letics Center and under the guidance of director of football performance Matt Balis. To start as a freshman, he'll have to beat out Wisconsin graduate transfer Jack Coan, plus returnees Brendon Clark and Drew Pyne. But the quar- terback awarded the job will be the one who can consistently put the of- fense in the best position to score. "If that's Tyler, that's Tyler," Rees said. "We are in an open competition. We have the ability to evaluate all of our guys and allow them to show- case their strengths and give them an opportunity to lead this offense, and we are never shy about adding competition to this group. "It's going to be an extremely com- petitive year and I do believe that brings out the best in guys. I can't tell you how excited I am just to get going and start this new chapter." ✦ TYLER BUCHNER QUARTERBACK 6-2 · 205 HELIX CHARTER H.S. SAN DIEGO RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 114 6^ 10 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 41 8* 3 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 90 4^ 7 ^ Ranked as dual-threat QB; * ranked as pocket passer STATISTICS • Did not have a senior season due to California canceling fall sports because of the COVID-19 pandemic. • Completed 267 of 402 passes (66.4 percent) for 4,474 yards with 53 touchdowns and six inter- ceptions for a QB rating of 137.2 during his junior season in 2019. Added 128 rushes for 1,610 yards and 28 scores on the ground. NOTABLE • Born on Nov. 7, 2002. • 2021 Under Armour All-American. • 2020 Elite 11 Finalist. • 2019 Silver Pigskin Winner (first junior to win San Diego's Heisman Trophy since Reggie Bush). • 2019 California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Offensive Player of the Year. • 2019 All-CIF first-team. • 2019 MaxPreps California first-team All-State offense. • 2019 MaxPreps Junior All-American first-team offense. • 2019 Cal-Hi Sports' California Junior Player of the Year. • 2019 Scorebook Live's Offensive Player of the Year. • His father, Todd, played football at Colgate in the mid-1980s, while his mother, Audrey, was a member of Yale's equestrian team. • His sister, Brooke, plays for the Cal beach vol- leyball team. • Was once committed to the Michigan lacrosse program. RECRUITMENT • Was one of two quarterbacks in the 2021 class to receive an offer from Notre Dame. • Earned his scholarship from the Irish on June 16, 2018 following a camp performance. • Picked Notre Dame over Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon and USC on March 8, 2019. • Recruited by Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees. • Enrolled at Notre Dame in February. 2021 PROJECTION • Buchner is coming into a wide-open quar- terback room, but with Jack Coan transferring in from Wisconsin, the competition is more likely to position him for the 2022 starting role. THEY SAID IT Pac-12 Network analyst and Elite 11 coach Yogi Roth: "He has the 'it' factor and can elevate those around him. I think Tyler is a baller. Some of the [inexperience] points are fair, and fans should temper their expectations fundamentally on freshmen coming in and thriving — it's not the easiest thing to do. "Tyler has a great ceiling and has time to de- velop, but he's going to miss out on like 700 snaps at the high school level. He's the best one Notre Dame has had in a while." National recruiting analyst Tom Lemming: "He shows the anticipation, coolness under pressure and competitive edge needed to be successful in college ball. He does a good job of executing the offense, and I believe he has a strong arm and does a good job of hitting his targets. "The competition level is okay, but his talent is obvious, and his processing speed is remark- able. Quick through his progressions, he regularly reaches his second and third read quickly."