Drew Pyne's turn at quarterback has arrived. After Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman announced Monday that Tyler Buchner will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, Pyne has risen to the top of the Fighting Irish quarterback depth chart.
Pyne appeared in four games over his first two seasons at Notre Dame and replaced Buchner in Saturday's defeat to Marshall. Freeman anticipates that the Connecticut native's leadership will guide him on the field as he takes over the Fighting Irish offense.
“You're thrust into a leadership position where you're a quarterback and you want people to be able to follow you, not just through your action, but also through your words and who you are as a leader,” Freeman said after announcing Buchner's injury extent. “He's a natural leader. (He) has a lot of the natural QB traits that you're looking for.”
The Irish offense is still attempting to regain its feet after two losses. Buchner only completed 56 percent of his 50 passes for 378 yards. Prior to his injury, he threw two interceptions, while Pyne was 3-of-6 for 20 yards with a third interception before connecting with Michael Mayer for a touchdown pass in the defeat to Marshall.
As the Drew Pyne era begins for Notre Dame football, let's take a look at a few things you need to know about the new Fighting Irish starting quarterback.
3. Drew Pyne is no rushing superstar
Pyne is more mobile than last year's Irish starter, Jack Coan, but he lacks Buchner's 4.5 speed. Notre Dame football's offense has been uneven in the first two games of the season, but Freeman doesn't anticipate the system to change much now that Buchner is out and Pyne is in.
“I don't see the offense changing extremely,” Freeman noted. “We'll still be able to do some of the QB runs that we did with Tyler, and the passing game … we'll continue to enhance it and figure out ways to be more consistent in it (and) put him in a situation to hopefully have more completions.”
To date, the Irish running offense has averaged only 3.1 yards per carry and 103 yards per game. Buchner presently leads the team in rushing with 62 yards on 24 carries. Pyne isn't going to put up large rushing numbers, but Freeman still hopes for him to be a contributor in the run game.
2. Drew Pyne's journey to starter has been painful
Pyne lost the starting spot to Coan last year and then to Buchner again during this year's autumn training camp. Pyne took the news hard, but he kept his head up after Freeman talked to him.
“I remember that conversation in my office and I told him that you know what, we made a decision, but I've never been a part of a program where you haven't used more than one quarterback throughout the course of a season,” Freeman recalled. “I didn't know when his time was going to come, but I knew it was going to come at some point, and here it is. So he's always prepared like the starter, he's prepared like a pro. That's who Drew Pyne is.”
Meanwhile, third-string QB Steve Angeli has risen up the depth chart as a result of Pyne's promotion to the starting position. The Westfield, NJ native was the scout team quarterback before the season, trailing Buchner, Pyne, and Ron Powlus III, but now he is currently No. 2 on the depth chart.
1. Drew Pyne will have a relatively short leash
Pyne has completed just over 50 percent of his attempts (20-of-39) for 256 yards and three touchdowns to one interception in his career. He hasn't played much so there isn't much information to go on. What we do know is that the quarterback competition in the fall was intense, with Freeman and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees naming Buchner as their starting QB only a few days into camp.
Pyne will start for Notre Dame football against California this week, but the real issue is how long he will have the job. Keep in mind that Steve Angeli, his backup, has yet to play a collegiate snap but appeared adequate during the Blue and Gold Game. In fact, he scored the game-winning touchdown with his legs in that contest.
If Pyne gets off to a strong start, he might keep the post for a long period. However, Freeman informed the media on Monday that practice reps will be split 60/40. This means Pyne will get slightly more than Angeli. Freeman also indicated that a package for Angeli will be available, presumably not only as a run-only option.
This has undertones about how long Pyne's leash will be regarding his starting role. If he struggles early on, as he did in the Blue and Gold Game, he may be pulled out sooner rather than later. If Pyne replicates his performance against Wisconsin last year? He may have the starting spot for the foreseeable future. Consistency is crucial right now, especially because Pyne fits more of what Rees wants his quarterback to accomplish in this scheme.
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