'That's unbelievable': What Alabama football added in transfer quarterback Tyler Buchner

Tyler Buchner had to spin out of the pocket almost immediately.

He had faked a handoff, but defender Tre Edwards barreled off the edge untouched. So, Buchner flipped around and started to run left, looking for an open receiver.

Then another defender closed in during this 2019 high school game in California, but he couldn't bring Buchner down. He tried, but Buchner slipped out of his grasp. Edwards still chased, too.

Buchner looked once more to see if he had passing options, but he didn't. So, he took off about 20 yards from the end zone.

Another Mater Dei (San Diego) defender rifled toward the sideline to try to stop the Bishop’s School quarterback. The defender over-pursued, though. Buchner pressed his left foot into the ground and cut back toward the middle of the field. Then he pushed his right foot into the ground to cut back toward the sideline, making another defender grab air. Finally, Buchner crossed the goal line. Touchdown.

Four different defenders tried to stop him. All failed.

“I was like, ‘That’s unbelievable,’” said Danny Mitchell, then the offensive coordinator for the Bishop’s School in La Jolla.

Consider Buchner the latest phenomenal athlete to join the Alabama football quarterback competition.

Buchner announced his commitment to transfer to the Crimson Tide on April 27. The former Notre Dame quarterback is now competing with two other athletic quarterbacks in Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson.

However, unlike Milroe and Simpson, Buchner has a bit more experience at the collegiate level. He had three starts this past season, including the Gator Bowl, after missing 10 games with a shoulder injury. He also played in 10 games his freshman year. Meanwhile, Milroe and Simpson have one combined start.

Experience alone won’t win Buchner the competition, though. He will have to call on his athleticism and high football IQ, among other qualities, as he looks to make a strong impression quickly.

He did at Helix Charter High School.

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‘Something special’

The Helix defensive coordinator, offensive line coach, tight end coach and head coach all looked at each other and chuckled.

During a 7-on-7 session in summer 2020, Buchner had just tossed a 65-yard touchdown, one of the first throws the coaches had ever seen from him.

“You knew you had something special,” then-Helix coach Robbie Owens said.

Buchner never actually played for Owens, though. Buchner was transferring to Helix for his senior season, but California postponed high school football in the fall because of COVID-19. Buchner continued with his original plan to enroll early at Notre Dame in the spring.

Although he never got to coach Buchner, Owens had a chance to work with him in other settings. He wanted to find a way to make the most of time stuck at home during the lockdown in spring 2020, so he and Buchner watched Notre Dame games together.

On Zoom, Owens would show a play from Notre Dame then explain the terminology Helix used for the same play. They also discussed what they saw. That served two purposes: Buchner could learn the Helix offense, and he also gained more exposure to Notre Dame’s offense.

“Instantly,” Owens said, “I saw he had a higher-level IQ.”

'Beating the crap out of us'

Mitchell often left his office at the Bishop’s School during the final period of the day to help coach the middle school flag football team. That’s where he first met Buchner, then an eighth-grader.

Buchner was a quarterback then, too, the only one on the flag football team. So when the two teams faced off, the other squad needed a stand-in quarterback.

Enter Mitchell, who was twice Buchner’s age. That didn’t show, though.

“He’s a 13-year-old beating the crap out of us,” Mitchell said.

Soon, Buchner did the same to opponents at the varsity level. As a freshman, he split time at quarterback with a returning senior. By his sophomore year, Buchner had already committed to Notre Dame.

“There was a lot of excitement,” Mitchell said of the mindset heading into the 2018 season. “Tyler is now going to be the guy.”

Turns out, for only four plays.

81 touchdowns

Buchner tore his ACL in the first game of the 2018 season and was out for the year, but he remained as engaged as he could be.

The sophomore attended every practice. He wore a headset every game. He sat in the booth during games, holding call sheets. He even suggested a play to Mitchell that resulted in a touchdown in the league championship.

“That was such an amazing chance to see the type of kid he is,” said Mitchell, now a senior analyst at UAB. “I don’t know how many 16-year-olds would do that.”

Not many could do what Buchner did in 2019 either. Over 13 games, he completed 267 of 402 pass attempts (66.4%) for 4,474 yards and 53 touchdowns with six interceptions. Buchner also ran for 1,610 yards and 28 touchdowns. Yes, 81 touchdowns.

Fresh off an injury-riddled sophomore year of high school football, Buchner returned for his junior year and dominated.

Alabama probably wouldn’t mind if the incoming junior did the same in 2023.

Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. Reach him via email: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tyler Buchner: What Notre Dame quarterback brings to Alabama football