Tyler Buchner, a former quarterback for Alabama football, will play one more season in his unique collegiate athletic career. Buchner, who played lacrosse and transferred back to his alma mater, Notre Dame, after spending a season with the Crimson Tide, revealed on Friday that he will be joining the Fighting Irish football team as a walk-on.
Buchner released a press statement from Notre Dame announcing the news.
In the statement, which was written as a letter to Irish supporters, Buchner stated, “Notre Dame has always been a place of faith and redemption, but I never imagined the extent of its generosity until the day Coach (Marcus) Freeman allowed me to rejoin the football team as a walk-on.”
Prior to the 2023 season, Buchner transferred from Notre Dame to Alabama to play football. Throughout the offseason, he faced competition from Ty Simpson and Jalen Milroe for the starting position.
In the Crimson Tide’s third game of the season, against South Florida, Buchner got off to a slow start and was eventually benched. He talked about the weeks that followed the game in the release.
Buchner remarked, “I was devastated and went into a deep emotional hole.” It felt like a pipe dream, something for which I had been working so hard all these years. And in the weeks that followed, I detested football and felt hopeless. It took me a while to realize that I would need to set new objectives for myself there in Tuscaloosa.
After a while, Buchner was able to get work at Alabama. He took over as head of the scout team the week after UA defeated LSU.
Prior to the Tide’s Rose Bowl game, Buchner told AL.com that he felt at ease in the new location.
“I might not be able to assist them directly on the field,” he remarked prior to the College Football Playoff game. But outside of the field, how helpful can I be? How capable are I as a teammate? To what extent may I assist the scout team? Just supporting the folks around me has really benefited me, and that has also helped me in my own battles.
Before the Rose Bowl, Buchner declared that he would be returning to Notre Dame. He was a walk-on when he joined the Irish lacrosse team and had a role in the squad’s recent national championship win.
Now, he’ll take a new role and go back to his roots. He will join the football Irish as a wide receiver, according to a number of publications.
In the press release, Buchner stated, “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 trip back to Notre Dame has been a contemplative and atoning experience. It has shown me that home is more than just a location; it’s also a sense of acceptance and kinship that follows you wherever life takes you.
