Notre Dame Fighting Irish head football coach Marcus Freeman said sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner was “magnificent” and “ready to roll” as he returns from injury before a matchup with the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Gator Bowl, according to a Thursday tweet from Athletic Notre Dame beat writer Pete Sampson.

Buchner hadn't taken a single snap for the Irish since a 26-21 Marshall victory in Notre Dame stadium. Tyler Buchner's high-grade AC joint injury in his non-throwing shoulder would sideline him for the next four months, or the rest of the regular season, paving the way for sophomore quarterback Drew Pyne to take starting reps in 10 games for the Irish.

“We can all do the math and probably put it somewhere, maybe January,” Freeman said in September. “So, that’s where we’re at with that. Moving forward, Drew Pyne will be our starter, and as I said when we addressed the quarterback competition in fall camp I had the utmost confidence in both of those guys being able to lead our offense and lead this football team.”

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Pyne threw for just over 2,000 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions in Buchner's stead, leading Notre Dame football to a quick turnaround from its 0-2 start. He threw for 318 passing yards and three touchdowns when he completed 23 of his 26 pass attempts against the then-No. 6 rated USC Trojans, a career-high for the 5-foot-11-inch Connecticut standout.

Marcus Freeman said Buchner likely would not take contact before the Gator Bowl, BlueandGold.com Notre Dame beat writer Tyler Horka wrote in an early-December tweet.

“There wasn't one point I lived up the quarterbacks in fall camp,” Freeman said. “You just can't take that chance of getting our quarterbacks hit and hurt in practice.”

The Fighting Irish will kick off in the Gator Bowl at 2:30 p.m. CST on Friday in TIAA Bank Field. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN.