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Notre Dame Football

BREAKING | Notre Dame QB Tyler Buchner Out For Season

September 12, 2022
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If 0-2 wasn’t tough enough for Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish will be without its starting quarterback moving forward. 

Freeman announced Tyler Buchner is out for the season with a high-grade AC sprain. He’ll have surgery on Tuesday and is expected out for four months.

"He ended up getting a high grade - 5 out of 6 - AC sprain in his non-throwing shoulder,” stated head coach Marcus Freeman on Monday. “He'll end up having surgery tomorrow with Dr. (Brian) Ratigan. The expected recovery time is about four months, so we can all do the math and that puts us somewhere in mid-January.” 

The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder had thrown for 378 yards and two interceptions while adding 62 yards and two touchdowns on the ground during his first two starts. 

Buchner experiencing growing pains early in the season was expected, but he had also shown flashes of the quarterback Tommy Rees recruited as he started 8-for-8 at Ohio State and wasn’t afraid to push the ball down the field. The growing pains came in the loss to Marshall as Buchner threw two picks and missed a few deep balls that could have given Notre Dame much-needed momentum. 

Late in the fourth quarter, Buchner was injured as he tried to pick up a first down with his feet and his left shoulder was driven into the ground on the tackle. 

Where does Notre Dame go from here? 

Junior quarterback Drew Pyne is listed as the starter on this week’s depth chart and true freshman Steve Angeli is listed as the backup.

Pyne is the only quarterback with game experience, which includes him filling in for Buchner in the final minutes of the loss to Marshall. The 5-foot-11, 198-pounder completed 3-of-6 passes for 20 yards with a touchdown and interception.

The New Canaan (Conn.) native did play in six games over his first two years at Notre Dame. Pyne has completed 17-of-33 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns, which includes the Wisconsin game in 2021 where Pyne went 6-of-8 for 81 yards and one touchdown in the 41-13 win. 

Angeli is the bigger quarterback at 6-foot-2, 211 pounds and he did arrive in January, so he does have as much experience in the system as a freshman can have, but he still has yet to take a snap in a college game. 

The New Jersey native did have a productive Blue-Gold game as he completed 11-of-17 passes for 180 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown on a 10-yard run as the clock expired. 

Notre Dame desperately needs a win as Cal (2-0) comes to South Bend this weekend and this week will be challenging for the offense and the staff, but it could also serve as the rallying point for this team moving forward. 

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