Is Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner the Alabama starting QB? Taking a closer look at how his familiarity with Crimson Tide OC Tommy Rees factors in
Tyler Buchner could very well be the starting quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2023.
Buchner entered the transfer portal and left Notre Dame to transfer to Alabama ahead of this season. With the season still over a month away, there has been no confirmation that he will in fact be the starting QB.
However, Buchner appears to be the favorite to start the season as the starting quarterback. This is in large part due to his relationship with Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
Tyler Buchner starting QB?
Last season with the Fighting Irish, Buchner played in just three games and threw for 651 yards along with three touchdowns and five interceptions.
Just three games into his season, he suffered a season-ending injury. Following Sam Hartman's transfer to the Fighting Irish, Buchner left Notre Dame for Alabama.
A big reason for Buchner to go to the Crimson Tide is Alabama's offensive coordinator, Tommy Rees, previously the OC with the Fighting Irish. The depth at quarterback for Alabama also wasn't the best, according to Alabama head coach Nick Saban.
"We wanted to give our quarterbacks in our program every opportunity to win the job in spring practice, and we felt like we needed to add some competition in the room," Saban said to ESPN at the NFL Draft."
..We think (Buchner has) got the right kind of character and attitude to be a positive influence on our team."
The fact that Rees recruited Buchner since he was in high school and allowed him to start at Notre Dame no doubt played a huge role in the QB transferring to the Crimson Tide.
However, just because Tyler Buchner and Rees have a relationship doesn't mean he will be handed the starting job. Tyler Buchner will need to beat out Ty Simpson and Jalen Milroe who both struggled at Spring practices.
But, for now, it does appear Tyler Buchner has the inside track to starting the first game of the season for Alabama. However, his play will need to be much better than last season if he is going to remain the starting quarterback.