Alabama adding Buchner to QB group is “an interesting move”

Alabama’s quarterback position room is getting another piece.

The Crimson Tide received a commitment from former Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner, which means there are five scholarship quarterbacks on the current roster. It’s possible that one or more quarterbacks could look to transfer out of the program, since the NCAA Transfer Portal closes on April 30. But Tony Tsoukalas, the Managing Editor of Tide Illustrated, doesn’t think fans should necessarily expect a departure.

“You know, you look at Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson. Ty Simpson doesn’t have a lot of experience, but Jalen Milroe has almost as much. He has one and a half starts compared to Tyler Buchner’s three starts last season,” Tsoukalas said. “It was an interesting move but when you look at after the spring game Nick Saban said he wanted to have someone at the position that could play winning football. I think that he thinks this ensures that he will have a better chance at having that in the fall in that bringing in a guy that is A. a little big more experienced and B. experienced with Tommy Rees’ system.”

Rees recruited Buchner to Notre Dame in 2020 and the Irish’s offensive coordinator during both of his college seasons. Rees left Notre Dame to take the same position at Alabama this offseason and likely was a factor in Buchner’s decision.

Tsoukalas says he would be surprised if Alabama goes into next season with five scholarship quarterbacks on the roster but he does not believe the addition of Buchner greatly affects the opportunity for any of the remaining quarterbacks to seize the starting job during Fall Camp.

“It’s not a Drake May. It’s not somebody that is going to come in and just automatically be that guy,” Tsoukalas said. “Now I don’t think he would have transferred to Alabama if he didn’t think he was going to be that guy. It’s not like Alabama was his only offer. I think there were other schools interested in Tyler Buchner so I’m downing him at all. But if you’re Jalen Milroe or you’re Ty Simpson, you don’t look at Tyler Buchner and think I can’t beat out this guy. I think it’s going to make for an interesting dynamic if everyone stays during the fall, it could really go to each one of those guys. You could make a case for why it would work for each one of those guys.”