2021 QB Tyler Buchner Felt A Consistent Message At Notre Dame

2021 The Bishop’s School (Calif.) quarterback Tyler Buchner‍ knew the red carpet was going to be rolled out on this weekend’s visit to Notre Dame, but the four-star prospect left feeling needed and wanted in South Bend. 

“This was my third time here,” stated Buchner following the visit. “It was a great experience. I have a really good bond with Coach (Tom) Rees and a lot of the guys. I got to spend time with Coach (Brian) Kelly, which was good because I hadn’t been able to spend as much time with him. 

“This visit was really perfect. I spent time with Ian Book and some of the other players, which was my goal going into it. They did a good job of filling in all of the holes. I feel super comfortable knowing everything about Notre Dame. I’m just comfortable here. The visit went great.”

The goal for the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder was to make him feel at home and to show him what Notre Dame can do for him off the field. 

Notre Dame academic counselor Adam Sargent hit every mark with Buchner when it came to academics. 

“I hadn’t really spent a lot of time with the players and that was really important to me,” said Buchner. “I really wanted that to help get to know the school and the players are the ones to get to know it the best. 

“I also spent time with their academic counselor, Adam Sargent, who was great and absolutely told me everything. I learned that they have a very similar approach academically to my high school, so the academic rigors were really attractive to me. Those two things, the academic side of it and getting to know the players and students, those were the two holes I wanted to fill.”

On Friday night, Buchner and his father had dinner with Rees, Bill Rees, Ian Book, Phil Jurkovec and Jordan Genmark Heath at Rocco’s. It was a low-pressure situation and Buchner was able to pick the brain of Book and Jurkovec.

“Those guys weren’t pressuring me or anything,” explained Buchner. “We were just hanging out as friends. I asked them ‘What is it like to be the quarterback at Notre Dame?’ and the message I got was that you get all of the fame and all of the blame. You get too much credit for the wins and too much credit for the losses. They ran me through that and told me about what it’s all like, so now I have a good idea of what it’s all like.”

Buchner also believes if Notre Dame was the choice, the quarterback room was a place he’d feel right at home in. 

“I had a lot of things in common with a lot of the guys,” Buchner said of Book and Jurkovec. “I really bonded with them and learned from them. There are so many things to learn from Ian. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in college football this next season. I got to watch Ian workout this morning and that was super cool to see. He looked great. It was a super cool experience. He’s cool to talk to and he’s a nice guy. He’s also from California, so we can bond over those things.”

Rees has made a Buchner a priority for months as he’s at the top of the Notre Dame quarterback board, but this weekend provided a chance to get to know him even more. 

“He was super laid back,” stated Buchner. “His message was that they want me to play quarterback for them. He has stuck with that and has been consistent with that the whole way. That was really big for me. The whole staff has been consistent the whole time and the fact that they believe in me is definitely big for me.”

Buchner will now turn his focus to visiting Stanford next weekend, a place he’s been before, but he doesn’t hold an offer an offer from the Cardinal. 

In terms of a decision, Buchner doesn’t have a date set but admitted he was getting closer to decision mode. 

“I’m definitely getting closer to making a decision,” explained Buchner. “This visit was big for me. I’ve seen everything I need to see about Notre Dame, which is good. I still want to see other schools and figure all that out. There isn’t much pressure at all from the coaching staff, so when the time comes and I’m ready to make a decision, I have all of the facts and know what I need to know, which is great.”

As far as Notre Dame, the Irish put themselves in a great position to land a commitment as Buchner got precisely what he wanted out of this trip to South Bend. 

“There was nothing that surprised me, but ironically, it was sort of the opposite,” said Buchner. “I wanted to see if what they told me checked out and if everything was consistent, and it really did. I heard the same things from the players, the coaches and even the students. It was so consistent and everyone had the same message for me. That was legit. It was huge for me.”