CFB: Breaking Down the Notre Dame QB Battle

May 4

Nearly nine thousand passing yards, 72 passing touchdowns, and two College Football Playoff Semifinal appearances later, Notre Dame QB Ian Book’s NFL dream continued forward Saturday when the California native was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round.

On the same day, the Fighting Irish hit the field for their spring game, shining a bright light on the vacant QB spot left open by Book. For the last three years, the Fighting Irish have been a quarterback away from seriously competing for a national title. Can any of these guys competing for the job make up that difference? Let’s take a look.

Jack Coan

Being the veteran in the QB room and the presumptive favorite, Coan is under a bigger microscope than others in this class. Coan is a winner. The Sayville, N.Y. native started 18 games at Wisconsin in the 2018-19 seasons, winning 12 of them, notching 23 touchdowns to just eight interceptions, and a close Rose Bowl loss to Justin Herbert and Oregon in 2019. After graduating, Coan decided to finish his career elsewhere after watching Graham Mertz flourish in 2020.

In terms of fit, Brian Kelly has to be extremely comfortable in what he has in Coan. The grad transfer plays a similar style to Book, not an elite down-the-field passer, good at managing the game, hitting short routes, and making plays with his legs (four career rushing touchdowns at Wisconsin). He showcased some of that on Saturday. He didn’t light the world on fire through the air, completing 18/32 passes for 197 yards and an interception. It doesn’t seem like that performance-enhanced/hurt his lead for the QB spot.

247Sports noted what most people think is obvious: this is Coan’s job to lose. The Fighting Irish won’t announce it now, but they like Coan’s arm strength, an upgrade over what they had in Book. They won’t make the decision soon, but as it almost always goes, leaning with the veteran over the younger options in the locker room.

Drew Pyne

Pyne is probably going to end up being the forgotten man in this QB race. A four-star recruit out of New Canaan, Connecticut, and a top-200 overall player nationally, Pyne saw action in four games while redshirting the 2020 season (including completing one pass for seven yards in the Rose Bowl game against Alabama). Pyne excelled in high school as a two-time Connecticut state champion, passing for over 100 touchdowns at New Canaan HS and ending as their career leader in passing yards and touchdowns.

Pyne doesn’t have the prototypical size teams look for in quarterbacks, listed at just 5-11 194 lbs. There are other things to like though: a quick release, good touch, and dual-threat ability, as 247Sports writes. He didn’t wow at the spring game, going just 11/23 for 146 yards and an interception. Brian Kelly has made it clear in the offseason that Pyne is the main competition for Jack Coan, thanks to the inexperience of Tyler Buchner and the injury of Brendon Clark.

Tyler Buchner

Despite his inexperience, Buchner is the most talented QB competing for the starting spot. The San Diego native tore up HS competition, ranking No. 1 in the country in total yards in 2019 the last time he saw the field (no season in 2020 due to COVID-19 in California). He’s a former lacrosse player, so the incoming freshman is a superb athlete. He’s adept at extending plays and throwing on the run. His upside is tremendous and Brian Kelly has to be drooling at the potential for Buchner. When we talk about true upgrades in terms of talent under center, Buchner is the guy.

It was the true freshman who showed out during the spring game, completing six of nine passes for 140 yards while leading the Irish to the only two touchdown drives of the day, rushing for one of them on his own. Not bad for someone who hadn’t played true organized football in a year and a half. While I think it’s unlikely that Buchner sees the field in 2021, the talent could be enough for Kelly to ditch the safer/older options to see if Buchner could make a real difference.