Notre Dame Quarterback Tyler Buchner Injury Rules Him Out For Rest of the Season

As Notre Dame slumped off the field Saturday night, defeated by Marshall, they knew their national championship hopes were dashed. They’d lost the game and they’d lost starting quarterback Tyler Buchner, who was hurt late in the fourth quarter.

Buchner Suffers High-AC Sprain Against Marshall

The Fighting Irish could not have been best pleased with a very subpar performance this Saturday. In a game they were expected to win easily as 20.5-point favorites, nothing clicked for them. Surprisingly, they were beaten somewhat convincingly by a fired-up Thundering Herd. If the result wasn’t disappointing enough, they have learned that their quarterback, Tyler Buchner has suffered a season-ending high-grade AC shoulder sprain in his non-throwing arm . The injury requires surgery and a four month rehabilitation. By that time, the season will be over, so that’s it for this year’s sophomore quarterback. He will likely be allowed to redshirt this season and retain the year’s worth of eligibility.

Drew Pyne to Take Over

The young quarterback wasn’t off to the best of starts this season. He had thrown two picks and zero touchdowns in the opening two contests. Notre Dame likely feels as though Buchner was their best shot at making the postseason this year even though there was competition for the starting job at camp. According to Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, Buchner will undergo surgery sometime on Tuesday.

Drew Pyne is the likely candidate to take over the starting job. Pyne is a third-year sophomore with all of his previous seasons spent at Notre Dame. He joined the Fighting Irish as a 4-star recruit from Connecticut. His scouting report out of high school says he has a good pocket presence and is able to move around the pocket well. In his limited action at Notre Dame so far he has completed 20 of 39 passes for 256 and three touchdowns with one interception. Freeman says he has the utmost confidence in Pyne and he doesn’t see the passing game changing much with the enforced quarterback switch.