Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne Put In Time While He Was Away
Working out during a pandemic has required some creativity and a lot of help.
For Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne, it meant gathering his family and some former teammates so he could get in remote sessions with his trainers from QB Country.
Three times a week, Pyne went out to the field with his group while either Thomas or David Morris watched via FaceTime . Pyne’s mother handled the video, his father took care of the snapping while his older brother and teammates ran routes.
“Obviously, it was a learning curve on our end just because we’ve never really done it before,” Thomas Morris said. “But I don’t know if we really skipped a beat workout-wise.
“I felt like the workouts were just as good and we were able to hit on all of the details that we wanted to even with us not being there. Obviously, I would have liked to be there in person if I needed to demonstrate something or show him something. I’m usually hands-on. It’s been a little bit of a learning curve, but after the first workout or so, we kind of figured it out and he was able to really do it and do it well without us having to be there, which is good.”
Morris had the chance to talk with Pyne during and between reps.
“It felt natural,” he said. “It didn’t feel like I was 500 miles or however many miles away I was, it didn’t feel like that. It felt like, ‘Hey, we’re getting really good work in. You’re making sick progress.’”
Morris, who worked out with Pyne in person in New Jersey prior to the COVID quarantine, was impressed with what he saw.
“Drew looked incredible,” he said. “He’s never looked stronger.
“His arm from this time last year, he’s probably got 5 to 10 yards on his deep ball just in the last year. What I was working on was arm strength, deep throws, deep intermediate, big posts, go’s, go-balls and a lot of off-platform stuff. We were really working his off-platform and making sure he feels comfortable with anything this game brings him. I want to make sure he’s prepared for any scenario he faces.”
Pyne was diligent about lifting, running and eating right during the break as well to keep on the 197 pounds he’s been at.
“He’s been working really hard in the weight room too and really getting after it,” said Morris. “I’ll be honest with you, I think his arm does look different. It looks way different than what it looked like last summer.”
The Connecticut native was busy last summer between his own workouts, The Elite 11/Opening Finals and New Canaan High School’s 7-on-7 schedule. That rolled right into the season. Pyne ended up missing the final game of his high school career with an injury, but after a few weeks off, looked sharp when he played in the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando in January.
“I thought his arm looked way stronger than even in the season,” Morris said of Pyne’s performance in Orlando. “A lot of times with fatigue, your arm starts to get tired throughout the season. That break, getting him back to 100 percent was probably good for him. It’s always good to rest and be proactive with your recovery.
“We’re always smart about throwing volume and truing to be smart about his arm peaking at the right time. Once you get into practices and the game, it’s up to him to take care of that and make sure he’s being smart about it.”
Pyne didn’t get to participate in spring practice at Notre Dame – outside of the lone session the Irish held before everything was shut down – but Morris said it was still “huge” that he had the chance to be on campus.
“I felt like he’s really grasping the playbook,” he said. “I feel like it was huge for him to have even (the abbreviated) spring with Notre Dame before he broke just to really dial in on the playbook.
“Obviously, they continued to check with them and talk with them about plays and install and whatnot. We were able to incorporate that into workouts, which was huge. That was massive to be able to do that.”
Pyne is scheduled to get the chance to get back out on the practice field with his new teammates later this summer and Morris expects him to do well.
“His arm looks like he’s ready. I think he’s ready.”