Pete calling it an odd move for Pyne Hasn’t this plan been the worst kept secret all year? He’s got no shot at starting next year. If he waits till after the bowl, a lot of spots will already be taken
Idk not happy about him leaving - like that’s exactly the kind of depth piece you need to stick around.
Yeah would have much preferred he stay. Obviously not the best move for him, but it's not like he's going to play in the NFL so why not fulfill his destiny as Tommy Rees 2.0 and pinch hit when our savior Kenny Minchey has a few bad games a la 2012. Worked out well till the end that year
It’s not a great position for us to be in, but wouldn’t shock me if it’s straight from transfer to Minchey. Buchner is/was a miss. And I’m not sure if Angelli is ever starting material (or should be).
That’s a scary depth chart if the transfer gets hurt. Like going forward if the upperclassmen goes down it’ll always be some untested/unproven commodity. Like OU and Bama are anomalies - we’re not getting a run of superstar freshmen ready to run in week 1.
Good luck to Pyne. It is the right move for all parties. He did his best but has likely reached his ceiling at ND.
Agreed there, but if we’re ever put in a position where someone of Pyne’s caliber needs to start for a considerable amount of time again, Tommy Rees should be shot to the moon. The kid might not even be an Ivy League starter.
It’s probably in the top 25% or better of p5 teams. No one is going to have a good upperclaseman backup. - they all transfer
He has 3yrs of eligibility left? Watch him be awesome at like Ball St. Super efficient in some dink and dunk offense.
Thamel's article says that Pyne originally had offers from Alabama and Oklahoma.. I'm assuming that these ultimately weren't committable?
Pyne will also make bank one day. His father was a C level for NASCAR and now IMG (I believe). His uncle was a C level for the Tampa Bay Bucs and helped co-found NetJets. Kid could be a major NIL resource one day if the split is amicable.
He was considered one of the top QB recruits in the country his freshman year of HS. Then legitimately didn’t grow whatsoever.
My first guess was Northwestern actually, before I realized that the symmetry of Pyne transferring out on the same day Phil washed out of a second program was too sweet to ignore.
I hope they aren’t seriously telling transfers they have to compete with Buchner for the job next year
In this era of cfb you have to tell everyone they’re competing for their job unless they’re like Mayer/Foskey level guys.
The last thing I want is for Buchner to go out and play well in the bowl game. We don't need anyone thinking he's the presumptive starter next year.
Pyne was probably told Buchner is starting if healthy and knows this is the end for him at ND. Good luck to him at UConn, BC or Harvard
I’m guessing the odd move is the timing of the whole thing. He was always gone after this year. Good luck to him
I actually hope he does. I like the kid. It's hard not to. He's just not the level ND needs physically.
Sitting out the bowl game does kinda surprise/bother me a little bit. Maybe he didn't want other schools to know what he looks like when he doesn't have Mayer to throw to.
Love how Driskell said before the USC game that being seen as a “hot team” to end the year is incredibly important for recruiting perception. And then we lose and it’s immediately “the recruits aren’t as sensitive to these things as fans are”. Then two days ago the narrative was “the bowl game is huge for ND to create off-season momentum”. Now it’s “should we just play all the youngsters in a meaningless bowl game?”
I hope Buchner starts and plays well. Any transfer coming absolutely should have to compete and ear the spot. Seems silly to think otherwise. It would also be good to make sure we have reasonable backup depth now that Pyne is gone.