Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner is expected to miss the rest of the regular season with an injury to his nonthrowing shoulder that will require surgery.
"As I said when we addressed the quarterback competition in fall camp, I had the utmost confidence in both of those guys to be able to lead our offense and lead our football team," Freeman said."We are still very positive and optimistic about our future moving forward."
Pyne is 20 for 39 for 256 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in five career games. That includes a relief appearance against No. 18 Wisconsin in 2021, where Pyne threw a fourth-quarter touchdown in a late-game comeback victory. Notre Dame is off to an 0-2 under first-year coach Freeman after beginning this season ranked fifth in the country."You're thrust into a leadership position when you're the quarterback," Freeman said."You want people to be able to follow you, not just through your actions, but through your words and who you are as a leader. He's a natural leader. He has a lot of the natural QB traits that you're looking for.
In addition to throwing for 378 yards and two interceptions, Buchner was Notre Dame's leading rusher with 24 carries for 62 yards and two touchdowns.Freeman conceded Pyne doesn't possess Buchner's speed, but Pyne will still be called upon to run the ball. "I don't see the offense changing an extreme amount," Freeman said."We're still going to be able to do some of the QB runs we did with Tyler. passing game, we'll continue to enhance it and figure out more ways to be consistent in it and put him in a position to hopefully have more completions."