TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There’s plenty of “baking” time remaining, but one of the members of Alabama’s quarterback cake was a little late to get into the oven.
Unlike Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson, Tyler Buchner didn’t have the benefit of competing in the Crimson Tide’s spring camp. Instead, the Notre Dame transfer has had to play a bit of catch-up since transferring to Alabama over the summer.
“I still think that he’s probably getting comfortable with the system,” Nick Saban said when asked about Buchner following the opening of Alabama’s preseason camp Thursday. “There’s some new terminology in it. And I think he’s probably still getting comfortable with the players around him because the other guys have been with those guys a little more.”
Buchner might still be getting his bearings in Tuscaloosa, but the San Diego native does have an advantage of his own.
No one on Alabama’s roster knows first-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees better than Buchner, who spent the last two seasons playing under him at Notre Dame.
Buchner earned the starting job for the Irish last season before missing 10 games with a shoulder injury. He was able to return in time to lead Notre Dame to a victory over South Carolina in the Gator Bowl, completing 18 of 33 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns with three interceptions while adding 61 yards and a pair of scores on the ground.
During his two seasons under Rees, Buchner completed 56.8% of his passes for for 949 yards and six touchdowns with eight interceptions and rushed for 459 yards and seven more scores.
“Tommy knew the guy better than anybody could know him. I mean, he coached him for a couple years,” Saban said of the relationship between Rees and Buchner. “The guy was injured last year, so he didn’t get as much experience. I think he started two games and played fairly well, so we got the opportunity to see that. But Tommy knows him better than anybody else could. I think you always know a player when you coach them. You know his strengths. You know what he needs to improve on.”
Rees brought Buchner to Notre Dame as the No. 6 dual-threat quarterback in the 2021 class. Along with being familiar with what his play-caller wants, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound passer offers a versatile skill set that should allow Alabama to use him in several ways from run-pass options to traditional drop-back plays. Over the next month, the challenge will be translating that knowledge and ability into his new setting.
So far, he’s fit in just fine.
“All the quarterbacks look great,” wide receiver Ja’Corey Brooks said. “They all show leadership qualities and they all have the right mindset.”
Saban continued his baking metaphor Thursday, stating, “When we're going to take the cake out of the oven, we'll tell you when it's the time.” Until then, the head coach will be watching for the cream to rise to the top in his quarterback room.
“We want all the guys when they're in there, you play the position like it's yours, like it belongs to you,” Saban said. “You're out there competing. You're not looking over your shoulder, you're not looking at what somebody else does. You're playing like you're the man. That's what we want each guy to do and see who can do that with the most consistency. So it's important. You've got to be processed-oriented. You can't be outcome-oriented right now, you've got to be process-oriented because that's what you want to help your players to have the kind of consistency is you need to play winning football at the position, which is ultimately what we're looking for.”
