Notre Dame Football: Did Irish make a mistake by not pursuing transfer QB?

Notre Dame football has been on the cusp of being one of the nation’s elite programs. Should the Irish have gone after a quarterback in the portal?

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been on the cusp of the national elite for the last five seasons. The Irish have won ten or more games during that time. However, a look inside those five seasons reveals a telling story about Notre Dame.

While now-former coach Brian Kelly has undoubtedly raised the floor of the Notre Dame program, they fall short when playing the elite of college football. Their three losses in 2017 were against No. 15 Georgia, No. 20 Stanford, and No. 8 Miami.

The Irish were undefeated in 2018 but lost 30-3 to eventual national champion Clemson in the Cotton Bowl. Notre Dame could not move the ball against Clemson’s defense in that game. And 2019 saw the Irish lose a close game against No. 3 Georgia and a blowout loss to Michigan in the infamous monsoon game.

What has been the common denominator?

The Irish have had great defenses in many of those years and quality skill players, though the lack of speed on the perimeter has been an issue. The common denominator has been the lack of an elite quarterback.

Ian Book was an excellent, solid college quarterback. If you look at Notre Dame’s closest comp, Clemson, the difference has been the quarterback. Clemson recruited in the teens until the Trevor Lawrence class but has had two difference-makers at quarterback.

The Irish come into the 2022 season with Tyler Buchner and Drew Pyne as the only two quarterbacks with experience coming.

The question is, “Should the Irish have gone after a quarterback in the portal this offseason?”

The Irish had options

The Irish contacted just one of the quarterbacks in the portal, Kedon Slovis. Alabama transfer quarterback (and Paul Bryant’s great-grandson) Paul Tyson considered Notre Dame, but nothing that says he and the Irish had contact.

Even if Notre Dame signed either Slovis or Tyson, those are not names that exactly set the world on fire. Both quarterbacks would add depth, not win a national title.

There were young, potentially transformational quarterbacks in the portal. Notre Dame did not go after Caleb Williams, Jaxson Dart, Cameron Ward, or Spencer Rattler.

Last season, the Irish did go to the portal, signing Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan. His limitations were evident, however, in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State when the Irish could not run the football, though solid most of the season.

Happy with their quarterback room?

It is possible that head coach Marcus Freeman and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees are satisfied with their quarterback room. Buchner, a rising sophomore, is a top-100 recruit but lost two years of high school football due to an ACL and COVID-19 as a senior.

Buchner has tools but has not played a lot of football. Rising junior Drew Pyne was a top-250 recruit but is not an athlete. Pyne does not have any elite traits but throws the football with anticipation and has an exceptional pocket presence.

Finally, there is incoming freshman Steve Angeli. The New Jersey native has enrolled early but rarely does a recruit outside the top-100 become a difference-maker from day one. Notre Dame has a veteran roster that demonstrates how well they’ve recruited the last four years.

They are a quarterback away; maybe they think he’s on the roster. On the other hand, he could have been in the portal.