Notre Dame starting quarterback Drew Pyne to enter transfer portal

Notre Dame starting quarterback Drew Pyne will enter the transfer portal, he announced on Friday afternoon. Here’s what you need to know:

Pyne replaced the injured Tyler Buchner at the end of Notre Dame’s Week 2 loss to Marshall and started the rest of the way in Notre Dame’s 8-4 campaign. He finished with 22 passing touchdowns and six interceptions while averaging 8.0 yards per attempt.
The junior from New Canaan, Conn., will have as many as three years of eligibility left at his new school.
Without Pyne, the next QB on the Irish depth chart would be freshman Steve Angeli, who has not thrown a pass this year.

Backstory

Pyne’s junior season mirrored Notre Dame’s up-and-down campaign under Marcus Freeman, with highs (including the USC, North Carolina and BYU games) and lows (including the scare against Cal and the home loss to Stanford). Despite all that, Pyne finished with the fourth-best single-season passer rating in school history and ranked No. 20 nationally in passing efficiency.

— Drew Pyne (@dpyne10) December 2, 2022

Why now?

It’s not clear why Pyne decided to leave Notre Dame’s football program in advance of the bowl game, but according to a program source, the quarterback was informed the Irish will take a transfer quarterback this offseason. Pyne was also assured by Notre Dame that he would be able to compete for the job during spring practice. Instead, he chose to depart the program entirely. — Sampson

What does this mean for the bowl game?

Notre Dame doesn’t expect Pyne to play in the bowl, which could mean Angeli makes his first start for the Irish. Former starter Buchner is still recovering from shoulder surgery after taking a season-ending hit in the Marshall game in early September. Angeli has played just seven snaps all season spread across two games. He’s yet to attempt a pass in live action, and Notre Dame intentionally did not play him in the blowout of Boston College to save his redshirt. — Sampson