SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Former Alabama and Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner is returning to the Fighting Irish team as a walk-on wide receiver.
Buchner, who announced his decision Friday in an open letter to Notre Dame fans, was a starter for the Fighting Irish to begin the 2022 season before missing 10 games with an injury. He returned to lead the team to a Gator Bowl victory against South Carolina.
Buchner followed offensive coordinator Tommy Rees to Alabama and wound up starting the third game of last season against South Florida, going 5 of 14 for 34 yards. Buchner ended last season behind starter Jalen Milroe and backup Ty Simpson.
He then went back to South Bend as a lacrosse player. Buchner wrote that coach Marcus Freeman and his staff embraced his return.
“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,” he wrote in a letter posted on the Notre Dame web site.
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