“La Jolla (Calif.) Helix High School quarterback Tyler Buchner is considered one of the truly elite talents in the class of 2021. The 6-2, 205-pounder, a dual-threat gunslinger, chose Notre Dame back on March 8, 2019, over an outstanding list of scholarship offers including Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, USC, and many others across the country. As a junior, he completed 267 of 402 passes for 4,474 yards, 53 touchdowns, and only six interceptions. He also rushed 128 times for 1,610 yards and 28 more scores.” – Irish Illustrated.
Those are genuinely astounding numbers. His fit in the Notre Dame offense is excellent. He’s a significantly better athlete than Ian Book, and Book rushed for 112-546-4 in 2019. I know that it’s not apples to apples, but Book’s best rushing year of high school resulted in 129-779-12. While he had one more carry than Buchner, the young buck exceeded his overall numbers by 831 yards and 16 touchdowns! He’s a true dual-threat, and the opportunity for early playing time for him should exist. Assuming the 2020 high school season gets played, he will have two years of starting experience playing big-time-ball in California. One interesting nugget about his production, his high school only has 550 students. In the playoffs last year, they played Camino, a school of 2,869. On Buchner’s team, they only dressed 32 varsity players in the playoffs, nine of which were freshmen. They have nine players that play offense and defense and only a total of three guys that weigh more than 200 pounds. His starting center is 5’8″ and 155 pounds! When you consider his supporting cast, it makes his numbers even more impressive.
Buchner throws the ball with excellent touch and anticipation. Like a player that grew up playing baseball, he can throw off-platform effectively and using a variety of arm slots. He’s creative as a passer and runner. In his highlight film, he was being harassed by a defender and threw a touchdown with his non-dominant hand. It reminded me of Pat Mahomes’ throw to Tyreek Hill, where he did similarly. He doesn’t have the absurd arm strength of Mahomes, but his vision and agility as a passer remind me of him.
Overall, his game most reminds me of Kyler Murray’s. At 6’2″ and 200 pounds, he’s bigger than Murray, but their playstyles are comparable. His lead analyst at 247Sports compared him to Sam Darnold, which I don’t see at all. He’s logged a 4.65 40-time and a 4.10 short shuttle, which makes him faster and more agile than Darnold’s entire running back room on the Jets! He tore his ACL as an underclassman, so it’s worth noting that in his medical history and it’s something to monitor in the future.
Overall, Buchner possesses everything that I look for in a future, fantasy-relevant quarterback. Assuming he sticks with Notre Dame, I believe that he will have the opportunity to play as a freshman. At a minimum, he will be in the hunt for QB1. I like Buchner as much as Young and Uiagalelei in the previous cycle. I’m just hoping I don’t get the same outcome as when I fell in love with Phil Jurkovec!
