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Tag: WalkOn
Tyler Buchner finds his place at Notre Dame, as a walk-on receiver
NEW ORLEANS − You didn’t have to look too far or think too hard to see the irony.
When Notre Dame football met the media Monday in advance of the Allstate Sugar Bowl matchup with Georgia on New Year’s Day, Irish players were arranged at round tables of six by position. All the quarterbacks sat together. All the running backs were grouped in a circle. All the wide receivers, and offensive linemen, and right on down the positional line.
From his spot in the back of a downtown hotel ballroom, former Notre Dame quarterback turned transfer quarterback turned walk-on wide receiver Tyler Buchner had a view of the table he might’ve called home, had he stayed at Notre Dame. Right in Buchner’s line of vision was freshman quarterback C.J Carr, so clear that he could’ve looped him a screen pass.
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Buchner once was Carr – a young Irish quarterback that everyone who follows Notre Dame football talked about, wondered about and thought about. Buchner sat Monday and could watch reporter after reporter approach Carr with questions, then nod their heads at his answers.
Carr is considered the likely starter for 2025. He’ll be the guy. Buchner was once the guy. Now he’s just one of them.
Yep, Buchner could’ve thought, that used to be my life. Two years ago this week, Buchner’s life was more than that. He had returned from a left shoulder injury that cost him 10 games of 2022 – what should’ve been his first full season as the Irish starter – to own the Gator Bowl. He earned most valuable player honors after throwing for 274 yards and three TDs and running for 61 yards and two more scores.
That was the last game Buchner played at Notre Dame. As a quarterback.
Life at Notre Dame never was the same. The Irish coaching staff decided, likely before that game had even kicked, to go portaling. It landed former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman, who would be the starter in 2023. Buchner decided that spring, probably minutes after a disastrous Blue-Gold game, to explore the transfer portal. He wound up playing for former Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees under Nick Saban at Alabama.
It was around this time last year – late December – that Buchner first pondered his playing future. What if he went into the portal again? Could that journey lead him back to Notre Dame?
The idea was too crazy to even consider, though Buchner considered it. Hard.
“I was sort of thinking, OK, what’s my next step?’” Buchner said Monday. “My time at Alabama was pretty much done. I was like, all right, what am I going to do? It was like a problem-solving challenge.
“How do I solve it?”
There were myriad solutions. Buchner could’ve stayed at Alabama and earned his undergraduate degree. He could’ve looked hard at other Division I programs where he could still play quarterback (on scholarship). He might have even started somewhere in 2024.
Or he could zag the biggest, unlikeliest zag ever and return to Notre Dame. He could walk on with the lacrosse team and keep open that football door possibility. There seemed to be one choice.
“It was like, ‘Notre Dame is special, and this is where I want to be,” he said. “I wanted to do everything it took to get back.”
Buchner admitted that the path back wasn’t easy. Not as an undergraduate. Not as a former Irish starting quarterback. Not as someone who used to be on scholarship. If he were to return for football, it would be as a walk-on, which meant he’d have to pay his own way.
His parents weren’t that happy about that but left the decision to their son.
“There were a lot of bumps in the road to get past,” Buchner said. “I’m just so glad that Notre Dame gave me that opportunity. There were so many people along the way that helped me get in the position I am today.”
The Buchner seen Monday was far from the one we saw when he was the starter at Notre Dame. During 2022 media scrums, he was guarded, as Notre Dame quarterbacks often must be. Look closely then and you could see the weight of the position, the expectations, bearing down on him.
Being the starting quarterback is a heavy burden. Some can’t carry the freight. Or the weight.
On Monday, Buchner was so loose, so relaxed, so comfortable in who he is and where he is now that he greeted one reporter by inquiring (jokingly) if Notre Dame is in the market for a transfer quarterback. At this point, no, but in a few weeks, that might change. Life tends to do that in a hurry in college football these days.
In quiet times, when he misses the attention and the spotlight and everything that comes with playing arguably the sport’s most demanding position – starting quarterback at Notre Dame – he might ask himself what if? What if he doesn’t sprain that shoulder against Marshall? What if Hartman never was an option? What if he had just stayed and played it all out?
As quickly as he burrows down that rabbit hole, Buchner returns to the present day. This is his now his life, so he lives it. He loves it.
“This is the path that I chose; this is the path that I wanted,” he said. “I’m so happy doing what I’m doing.”
Which is basically, anything. He’s nowhere near the regular receiver rotation and likely never will be. He is still a presence. Buchner sneaked into the formation and ran four yards on a fake field goal for a first down against Georgia Tech. He completed a 23-yard pass to tight end Mitchell Evans on a fake punt at USC.
Buchner plans to rejoin the lacrosse team in the spring and return to the football team in the fall. Maybe he stays a wide receiver. Maybe he returns to the quarterback room.
Now that would be ironic.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
Tyler Buchner, the highly touted quarterback prospect out of San Diego, has found his place at Notre Dame – but not in the role many expected. After arriving on campus as a freshman, Buchner made a surprising switch to wide receiver, opting to walk-on to the team at a position he had never played before.Despite the initial skepticism surrounding his decision, Buchner quickly began turning heads with his natural athleticism and playmaking ability. His speed, agility, and strong hands quickly caught the attention of coaches and teammates alike, who were impressed by his quick transition to a new position.
While Buchner’s path to Notre Dame may have been unexpected, his determination and work ethic have proven to be a perfect fit for the Fighting Irish program. As he continues to learn and grow as a wide receiver, Buchner has the potential to make a significant impact on the team and contribute in ways that were not originally anticipated.
With his versatility and dedication to his craft, Tyler Buchner is poised to make a name for himself as a walk-on receiver at Notre Dame, showing that sometimes the path less traveled can lead to unexpected success.
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Walk-on David Lynch starts at quarterback for Pitt in GameAbove Sports Bowl
For the second time in its three most recent bowl appearances, Pitt will turn to a third-string quarterback.
David Lynch, a walkon who enrolled in January 2023, will start for the Panthers on Thursday against Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl at Detroit’s Ford Field.
Three years ago, Davis Beville replaced an injured Nick Patti late in the first quarter of the 2021 Peach Bowl against Michigan State. Patti, who injured his shoulder diving for a touchdown, started after Heisman finalist Kenny Pickett opted out to protect himself from injury in advance of the NFL Draft. Beville completed 14 of 18 passes for 149 yards, with a touchdown and interception, in a 31-21 loss to the Spartans.
The Panthers also used a second-string backup in the 2022 Sun Bowl when Patti replaced Kedon Slovis, who had transferred. Pitt hasn’t played a bowl game with its regular starting quarterback since Pickett led a 34-30 victory against Eastern Michigan in the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl.
Lynch (6-foot-3, 215 pounds) gets the call Thursday after Eli Holstein missed the final game of the regular season with a leg injury and No. 1 backup Nate Yarnell transferred. Holstein was not in uniform Thursday, but he was on the Pitt sideline wearing a walking boot on his left leg.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Ty Dieffenbach also transferred, so Lynch’s backup will be freshman Julian Dugger, a Penn Hills graduate who has been with the program since January 2024. Dugger did not appear in any games this season.
Lynch played briefly in the final two games of the season at Louisville and Boston College, completing six of nine passes, with an interception.
A graduate of Bishop Hendricken High School in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, Lynch spent the 2022 season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where the led the team to the National Post-Grad Athletic Association championship, throwing for 1,100 yards and 20 touchdowns. Prior to IMG, he led Bishop Hendricken to a championship in the Interscholastic League State Championship Super Bowl.
Lynch played football, basketball and baseball in high school where he was all-state in basketball, leading Bishop Hendricken to three state championships.
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
In a shocking turn of events, walk-on David Lynch has been named the starting quarterback for Pitt in the highly anticipated GameAbove Sports Bowl.Lynch, a relatively unknown player who had never started a game before, impressed the coaching staff with his raw talent and determination during practice leading up to the big game.
Fans are buzzing with excitement and curiosity as they wonder how Lynch will perform under the pressure of such a high-stakes game. Will he rise to the occasion and lead his team to victory, or will the pressure be too much for the inexperienced quarterback?
Stay tuned as we follow Lynch’s journey on the field and see if he can defy the odds and make a name for himself in the world of college football. #GameAboveSportsBowl #DavidLynch #UnderdogStory
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Pitt Walk-On QB David Lynch Receiving First College Start
Pitt is starting a walk-on quarterback against Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl.
David Lynch — a 6-foot-3, 215-pound quarterback from East Greenwich, R.I. — is making his first collegiate start with Eli Holstein ruled out and Nate Yarnell exiting via the transfer portal.
Lynch supplanted Ty Dieffenbach as the backup when Holstein missed time earlier this season, making the most of his opportunities in practice.
“When it just came down to the focus every single day in practice and the details, when you get your snaps, you’ve got to make your snaps worthwhile,” Narduzzi said last month during a weekly presser. “And it just seemed like we weren’t getting what we wanted out of Ty right now. And again business decisions. I don’t care if you’re a walk-on or scholarship player. I’d, obviously, love to — I don’t care.
“Go back to Sam Scarton starting at kicker instead of Ben Sauls. Which, we knew Ben was a phenomenal kicker back when he was a freshman, but you’ve got to put it through the yellow uprights. We’re playing the best players. We’re trying to win football games. We felt David gave us the best chance of winning right now.”
Lynch has completed 6-of-9 pass attempts for 46 yards and an interception in two appearances this season. He finished the loss against Louisville for the Panthers and received a couple of snaps as Yarnell was attended to by the training staff in the regular season finale against Boston College.
He initially committed to Pitt as a preferred walk-on before the 2023 season, after he spent a season at IMG Academy for his post-graduate development.
It’s a big opportunity for Lynch, a chance to show the coaching staff — and all of college football — that he’s ready for the moment. He will be backed up by Julian Dugger and walk-on Jake Frantl.
Pitt Walk-On QB David Lynch Receiving First College StartIt’s a dream come true for walk-on quarterback David Lynch as he gets set to make his first college start for the Pitt Panthers. The redshirt freshman has been patiently waiting for his opportunity and now, he’s ready to show what he can do on the field.
Lynch, who had to earn his spot on the team as a walk-on, has impressed coaches and teammates with his work ethic and determination. Despite not being heavily recruited out of high school, Lynch has proven that he belongs on the field with the best of them.
As he prepares to lead the Pitt offense, Lynch is focused and ready to embrace the challenge. He knows that all eyes will be on him as he steps onto the field, but he’s confident in his abilities and trusts in his preparation.
For Lynch, this moment is about more than just football. It’s about perseverance, dedication, and never giving up on your dreams. And as he takes the field for his first college start, he’ll be carrying those values with him every step of the way.
So, be sure to tune in and watch as David Lynch takes the field for the Pitt Panthers in his first college start. It’s sure to be a game to remember.
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