Notre Dame’s Drew Pyne Appears Increasingly Comfortable, Poised in QB1 Role
Drew Pyne rose to the occasion in each of his three starts, even as the level of competition has increased.
On Saturday against No. 16 BYU, Pyne played arguably his best game of the season against a ranked opponent. He completed 79 percent of his passes (22 of 28) for 262 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception on a ball tipped at the line of scrimmage.
Pyne also picked up five yards as a runner, scrambling on third and four and moving the chains. On the play, he juked 295-pound BYU defensive tackle Gabe Summers.
He finished the game with a strong 94.4 passer rating, his best of the season.
It’s not just that Pyne’s rating is better or that he completed 79 percent of his passes. He’s also played with more poise while looking more and more comfortable in the starting role as the season’s worn on.
“I don't really worry about stats, I just worry about winning,” Pyne said. “I can't even tell you a ballpark of how many yards I threw for. I don't really think about that. It's just play-by-play. I think accuracy has always been a part of my game that kind of separates me. That's something that I really have focused on him since I was a little kid.”
It’s gotten to the point that even when Pyne feels a little bit of pressure, he remains calm and often finds a way to make a big play, as he did on this flip pass to running back Audric Estime in the third quarter.
“I surprised myself,” Pyne said. “It worked, I guess, and then he hurdled someone.”
Pyne’s heightened play against BYU is in stark contrast to his first career start just four weeks ago.
Early in the game against Cal, nerves got the better of Pyne. The Irish went three-and-out on its first four offensive drives, followed by a Pyne fumble at Notre Dame’s 33-yard line. The Irish trailed at halftime, 10-7.
Pyne rebounded from his sluggish start. He’s looked increasingly more comfortable ever since.
Some of the credit for Pyne’s turnaround from that point on goes to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who went viral after NBC cameras broadcasted him verbally undressing Pyne from the coach’s booth post-Cal fumble.
In the 10 and ½ quarters since, Pyne’s completed 59 of 76 passes (78 percent) for 674 yards, 8.9 yards per attempt, 8 touchdowns and an interception.
Pyne acknowledged that Rees’ hard coaching helped him settle down against Cal, but just as vital as the positive reinforcement he received from his teammates. Even with Notre Dame’s season seemingly in shambles, no one turned on him.
“Something that you guys saw during the Cal game was all my teammates coming up to me when I was down,” Pyne said. “When I wasn't succeeding, every single player on the team, offense, defense, special teams, so many guys came up to me and had my back.
“Honestly, the reason I'm so comfortable out there is that I love each and every one of the guys that I'm on the field with. They're all my best friends, and that just makes me really comfortable to go operate.”
Since the first half of the Cal game, his teammates have also noticed a change in Pyne’s demeanor.
He has the look of a Notre Dame starting quarterback.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a freshman, a fifth-year senior, the quarterback, he’s the guy. He’s in charge of the offense,” left guard Jarrett Patterson said. ”When it comes to the huddle, all eyes are on him, and we see that look in [Pyne’s] eye now, that confidence he has. It really helps us out.”
Pyne’s ascension coincides with the rest of the Fighting Irish offense stepping up.
Over the last three games, the offensive line has gone from mediocre at best to potential world-beaters in Las Vegas.
Against a veteran BYU defensive line, Notre Dame averaged 5.2 yards per carry. On 29 dropbacks, Pyne was never sacked and he frequently had more time in the pocket than he knew what to do with.
“When I'm back there and you have a lot of time, I think the most important thing is to not panic,” Pyne said. “Because I've had a lot of time like that before in my life, and I don't know what to do. I just don't panic, I just keep looking, see the defense, see what's going on and just find an open guy or throw it away.”
Somehow All-American tight end Michael Mayer has somehow taken his game to an even higher level. In the last two games, he’s hauled in 18 catches for 208 yards and three touchdowns. That includes an 11-reception performance against BYU, which set a new single-game Notre Dame record for catches by a tight end.
Collectively, the Irish receivers are playing much better. Sophomore Lorenzo Styles was the offensive player of the game against North Carolina after snagging five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Against BYU, sophomore Jayden Thomas broke out with three catches for 74 yards and a touchdown, which came on a leaping 30-yard catch over BYU cornerback Jakob Robinson.
"It's too often the quarterback gets too much blame or too much praise,” coach Marcus Freeman said. “We need guys to make the quarterback look good, and to see Jayden make some of those big catches that he made were huge for the confidence of our wideouts room, but also the confidence of our quarterback to be able to spread the ball around. It was really good to see that."