Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2022 19 have to be able to make sure the offense is in the right position to have success by making the right checks, the right calls." If there's anything Pyne has over Buchner in the early going of the com- petition, it's leadership. That's where the extra year in the program comes in handy. "Drew has a presence," Rees said. "He has a voice. Guys gravitate to his voice. He's out in front. He's got those abili- ties. The message to Tyler is, 'You're not a freshman anymore.' "You have to take the next step from a presence standpoint. If you're going to win the job as the starting quarterback at Notre Dame, the team has to look at you that way. The only way you get them to look at you that way is handling yourself that way." Leadership goes a long way. But so too does simply playing good football. Is it important for a quarterback to be liked? Respected? Maybe even revered? Yes. Freeman admitted as much. But it's also important to just play good football. "I think so much of the position is decision-making and putting your team in position where you can have success, both run and pass," Rees said. "You have to run the whole show. "You're going to make six, seven, eight decisions on one play, and who- ever can make those decisions consis- tently and get us in a good position to be successful, that's who's going to ul- timately win the job." This might be something that plays out well into fall camp. It could even be something where both quarterbacks play in 2022. Ask Rees what that's like. He went through it with Everett Gol- son. Just like with Coan and Buchner, though, those two complemented each other nicely. Rees was more accurate than Golson. Golson could run much better. Pyne and Buchner aren't necessarily a good two-quarterback system tandem. Pyne needs continuous reps to be ef- fective. So, the only way he plays a lot in 2022 is if he wins the job outright or if Buchner does then struggles to the point of needing to be replaced. Try to find an Irish fan who is outwardly root- ing for that to be the case and you've likely found a liar. The best-case scenario for these two is to push each other to the point of Rees and Freeman being in a situation in which they cannot go wrong no mat- ter who they choose. Easier said than done, but both quar- terbacks are ready for the challenge. "I'm as competitive as anyone could possibly be," Pyne said. "When I'm on the field, I'm going to do everything I possibly can to succeed." "You can't just do what's required," Buchner added. "Doing what's required is great, but that's not the standard. That's doing the bare minimum. "If you want to be great here and you want to play and you want to start and be really, really good, you have to do the extra things." ✦ Buchner (12), a rising sophomore, is the presumed starting quarterback for Notre Dame by many, but Pyne (10), a junior, will have an opportunity to battle for the job. Freshman Steve Angeli (18) and sopho- more Ron Powlus III (11) round out the depth chart. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER "I'm as competitive as anyone could possibly be. When I'm on the field, I'm going to do everything I possibly can to succeed." PYNE