Notre Dame announces Asian American sophomore Tyler Buchner as starting quarterback

Asian American university sophomore Tyler Buchner is set to play as the starting quarterback in the 2022 season opener against Ohio State next month, the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, announced over the weekend.

In a press conference on Saturday, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish announced that Buchner, 19, will be playing as its starting quarterback when the intercollegiate football team faces off against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sept. 3. Buchner beat Notre Dame junior Drew Pyne for the position.

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“Drew made it extremely difficult. Those guys both can give us a chance to win both of them,” Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman told reporters. “We just think that Tyler brings an element… a dynamic element with his feet, the ability to extend plays to have a QB running game that really added into this decision.”

An accomplished dual-threat quarterback, Buchner, who is purportedly half Korean, is a four-star recruit out of La Jolla, California, and was listed in the 247Sports’ Composite rankings as the 11th-ranked quarterback in the 2021 class. In addition, Buchner was recently declared by ESPN as one of the 25 most important players in the College Football Playoff race, taking the No. 2 spot.

Buchner was reportedly the leader in the clubhouse during the fall camp, where he had an “outstanding” performance and “paced himself away from the other quarterbacks early despite Pyne having a strong bounce back [sic] campaign.”

As a first-year student at Notre Dame, Buchner played 10 games as a backup during the 2021 season, where he completed three touchdowns with three interceptions as well as 21-of-35 passes for 298 yards. He also notably rushed 46 times for 336 yards.

Despite only making seven snaps against the Cincinnati Bearcats, Buchner still averaged 11.8 snaps per game in seven of his games last season, and he even pulled a season-high 43 against the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Buchner was regarded as the best incoming quarterback Notre Dame has seen in nearly 15 years, according to an analysis by Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Driskel which was cited by USC’s StorySpace. Buchner enrolled in Notre Dame in 2021 after receiving offers from other schools such as the University of Alabama and the University of Georgia.

Buchner will lead the Fighting Irish as they face off against Ohio State’s revamped defense led by first-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

Featured Image via Notre Dame Football on IrishSportsDaily

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