Tyler Buchner was had one of the more unique college athletic routes. Buchner was a quarterback for the Notre Dame football team during the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He was the starter for the Fighting Irish to begin the 2022 season, but a shoulder injury kept him on the sidelines for much of the season. Buchner ended up transferring to Alabama, and then he came back to Notre Dame to play lacrosse. After winning a lacrosse national title, he is now back on the football team as a walk-on wide receiver.
What a journey for Tyler Buchner. He has done a lot throughout his college career, and the journey isn't over yet. Coming back to the Notre Dame football team would be one thing, but going from QB to WR makes his story even more bizarre.
Buchner penned a long letter to Notre Dame nation explaining his decision to transfer to Alabama, and his decision to come back and play lacrosse for the Fighting Irish.
“As I returned to campus and joined lacrosse, I quickly realized my journey was not merely a return to a game I had not played since 9th grade but a renewal of my spirit and love for competition,” Buchner said in his letter. “It was an opportunity to play for the defending National Champions and to reset my goals and priorities. As one would expect from a Notre Dame team, they embraced me and pulled me into their culture despite my time away from lacrosse (and lackluster stick skills). It was easy for me to see why this team is special, as my teammates are relentless in how they live their lives. They embody the spirit of Notre Dame with their unwavering commitment to each other, to the game they love to play, and to their studies. It is no wonder a back-to-back national championship was in store.”
Buchner and the Notre Dame lacrosse team obviously found a lot of success, and now he is hoping to experience that with the football team.
Tyler Buchner is back as a walk-on
Tyler Buchner is now back with the Notre Dame football team, but he is joining the team as a walk-on this year. He had opportunities to play elsewhere on scholarship, but he only wanted to play for the Fighting Irish.
“Notre Dame has always been a place of faith and redemption, but I never imagined the extent of its generosity until the day Coach Freeman allowed me to rejoin the football team as a walk-on,” Buchner said. “Being able to play the game I have loved since I can remember and playing for Notre Dame had been my dream. I risked it all and believed I had lost it all, as I did not think even returning to football at Notre Dame would be in the cards. As I was leaving Alabama, I had scholarship opportunities to play quarterback elsewhere. Even though I knew I was potentially giving up on my football dreams, I turned them down and told my parents that I would pay my way through school because I only wanted to be at Notre Dame. It would have been easy for the football coaching staff to see me just as a player who had left, but instead, I am grateful they were able to see me as a young man eager to return and contribute in any way I could for the greater good of the team.”
Now, Buchner has one thing in mind: winning another national championship at Notre Dame. This time, with the football team.
“Now, as I stand on the threshold of another season, my heart swells with a fervent desire to help Notre Dame achieve the glory we all dream of — a National Championship in football,” Buchner concluded. “I am driven by the determination to give my all, to push beyond my limits, and to be a part of something greater than myself. The journey back to Notre Dame has been one of reflection and redemption. It has taught me that home is not just a place, but a feeling of belonging, of being part of a family that stands by you, no matter where the road leads.”
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