Tyler Buchner is trusting the process
The Alabama QB, a former blue-chip recruit, opens up about trading in football for lacrosse, and going back to Notre Dame.
PASADENA, Calif. — Tyler Buchner just turned 21 last month. That may sound hard to believe about a quarterback who has been in the national spotlight since his 2019 commitment to Notre Dame, but he is still a young guy, at least by normal human standards.
Buchner, or anyone who is good enough to play football for schools like Notre Dame or Alabama, does not abide by normal human standards.
Which makes the fact that his football career is soon coming to a close — either this Monday or next — all the more unique.
Buchner will re-enroll at Notre Dame for the spring semester and join the lacrosse team. He might be wearing a national championship ring by the time he gets back to South Bend.
He might get another one in a few months, too. The Irish, after all, are the defending national champs in lacrosse.
This is not how Buchner drew up his college career. It’s certainly not how anyone who follows quarterback recruiting drew it up for him.
There’s a lesson in there, one that Buchner is trying his hardest to embrace, as uneven as this college journey has been.
“It's been hard,” Buchner told The Inside Zone. “I know I'm doing what’s best for me. Something I learned through my time here is there's no such thing as a right or wrong decision. You can make a right decision wrong. You can make a wrong decision right. So it doesn't really matter what you choose to do. It’s in your power to make a decision right.
“So I'm kind of just going with that and hope I can make this decision right. But first, I want to win a national championship with this team and contribute in any way I can and support the guys who are playing on Monday.”