Tyler Buchner (born November 7, 2002) is an American multi-sport athlete who plays wide receiver for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and midfielder for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish lacrosse team. He previously played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Tyler Buchner
Personal information
Born (2002-11-07) November 7, 2002 (age 22)
Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
College football career
Notre Dame Fighting Irish – No. 26
PositionWide receiver
Class
Redshirt
Redshirt
Junior
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolHelix (La Mesa, California)
Career highlights and awards
Tyler Buchner
PositionMidfielder
NCAA teamNotre Dame Fighting Irish (Junior)
Career highlights

High school career

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Buchner attended The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California, before transferring to Helix High School in La Mesa, California, for his senior year.[2] He did not play football his senior year in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] As a junior in 2019, Buchner passed for 4,474 yards with 53 passing touchdowns and 1,610 rushing yards and 28 rushing touchdowns.[4] He committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football over offers from Alabama, TCU, Georgia, USC, and Michigan, among others.[5][6][7]

College career

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Notre Dame

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Buchner spent his first year at Notre Dame in 2021 as a backup to Jack Coan.[8] He appeared in 10 games, completing 21 of 35 passes for 298 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed for 336 yards and three touchdowns.[9] Buchner competed with Drew Pyne to take over as the team's starting quarterback in 2022.[10][11] During his second game as starter, he injured his shoulder during Notre Dame's loss to Marshall on September 10, 2022, and missed the remainder of the 2022 regular season.[12] He returned to the field for Notre Dame's victory against South Carolina in the 2022 Gator Bowl.[13]

Alabama

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In 2023, he entered the NCAA transfer portal and soon transferred to the University of Alabama.[14] In week three, Buchner started against South Florida but struggled throughout the game and was later benched in favor of Ty Simpson.[15][16] Nick Saban would announce Jalen Milroe as the starter for the rest of the season.[17]

Return to Notre Dame

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On December 4, 2023, Buchner entered the transfer portal as a men's lacrosse player. He had been a highly ranked lacrosse recruit in high school, and in April 2017 had verbally committed to the University of Michigan for lacrosse before eventually committing to Notre Dame for football.[18][19] On December 20, 2023, Buchner announced that following the conclusion of Alabama's 2023 football season he would transfer back to Notre Dame to join Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's lacrosse.[20] Buchner was part of Notre Dame's 15–5 victory in the 2024 National Championship game against Maryland.[21]

In May 2024, Buchner re-joined the Notre Dame football team as a walk-on wide receiver.[22]

College football statistics

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Season Games Passing Rushing
GP GS Record Comp Att Pct Yards Avg TD Int Rate Att Yards Avg TD
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2021 10 0 21 35 60.0 298 8.5 3 3 142.7 46 336 7.3 3
2022 3 3 1–2 46 83 55.4 651 7.8 3 5 121.2 36 123 3.4 4
Alabama Crimson Tide
2023 2 1 1–0 8 19 42.1 61 3.2 0 0 69.1 3 20 6.7 1
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2024 2 0 1 1 100.0 23 23.0 0 0 293.2 1 4 4.0 0
Career 17 4 2–2 76 138 55.1 1,033 7.5 6 8 120.7 86 483 5.6 8

College lacrosse statistics

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Year Team GP G A
2024 Notre Dame 11 0 1
Career 11 0 1

References

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  1. ^ @PFF_College (December 30, 2022). "The Tyler Buchner experience tonight was WILD" (Tweet). Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Norcross, Don (March 13, 2020). "Bishop's quarterback transferring to Helix". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  3. ^ Maffei, John (September 12, 2020). "Buchner likely won't play a down for Helix". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  4. ^ "Pod of Gold: QB commit Tyler Buchner on preparing to join Notre Dame next season". South Bend Tribune. October 27, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  5. ^ "Quarterback Tyler Buchner, a 2021 recruit, commits to Notre Dame". Notre Dame Insider. March 8, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  6. ^ Karels, Carter (January 24, 2021). "How incoming Notre Dame freshman Tyler Buchner prepared to be next-level QB Irish covet". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Berardino, Mike (April 30, 2021). "Notre Dame Wants A Closer Look At Freshman Quarterback Tyler Buchner". Forbes. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  8. ^ Berardino, Mike (November 13, 2021). "Notre Dame Quarterback Tyler Buchner And The Freshman Learning Experience". Forbes. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  9. ^ Stires, Sean (August 8, 2022). "Tyler Buchner Learning To Add Leadership To His Playmaking Skills". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  10. ^ Fineran, John (August 9, 2022). "Buchner-Pyne QB battle highlights Irish preseason camp". AP News. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  11. ^ Hough, Austin (August 7, 2022). "ND's Pyne, Buchner battling for starting QB role". Herald Bulletin. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  12. ^ "Notre Dame QB Buchner out for season with shoulder injury". WNDU. September 12, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  13. ^ "Irish top S.C. in historic Gator Bowl barnburner". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 31, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  14. ^ Thamel, Pete (April 27, 2023). "Former Irish QB Buchner heading to Alabama". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  15. ^ Parks, James (September 16, 2023). "Alabama QB change: Crimson Tide to start Tyler Buchner in USF game". SI.com. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  16. ^ Heim, Mark (September 16, 2023). "Alabama's Nick Saban explains decision to bench Tyler Buchner for Ty Simpson vs. USF". AL.com. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  17. ^ Scarborough, Alex (September 18, 2023). "Saban gives Tide QB job to Milroe for SEC opener". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  18. ^ Foy, Terry (December 4, 2023). "Breaking: Tyler Buchner Enters the NCAA Transfer Portal for Men's Lacrosse". Inside Lacrosse. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  19. ^ Baumgartner, Blake (December 5, 2023). "Alabama QB Tyler Buchner enters portal as lacrosse player". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  20. ^ Rittenberg, Adam (December 20, 2023). "Tide QB Buchner returning to Irish for lacrosse". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  21. ^ Kassim, Ehsan (May 27, 2024). "Former Alabama QB Tyler Buchner wins national championship - with Notre Dame lacrosse". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
  22. ^ Sampson, Pete (May 31, 2024). "Tyler Buchner returning to Notre Dame football as walk-on WR, to remain on lacrosse team". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2024.
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