While Alabama football is sorting out its quarterback room for the 2023 season, a former starter with ties to UA entered the transfer portal on Tuesday.

Tyler Buchner, who’s appeared in 13 games with Notre Dame, tweeted his intent to explore a new program while not ruling out a return to the Fighting Irish.

“I love Notre Dame. The people, and especially my teammates, are what makes this place special to me,” Buchner said in his social media post. ” … After discussions with Coach (Marcus) Freeman, remaining at Notre Dame is thankfully an option I’m continuing to consider. I am truly grateful to everyone for their support through this process.”

Buchner was a four-star prospect out of Helix (Calif.) High School in La Mesa. He was the No. 11 quarterback in the 2021 class according to 247Sports Composite and was offered by Alabama among other schools. Yet, Buchner went with Notre Dame and then-Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who recruited Buchner. Rees became Alabama’s offensive coordinator in February and has observed the ongoing battle between Ty Simpson and Jalen Milroe for the starting role.

247Sports’ Chris Hummer reported Buchner is in the portal with a “do not contact” designation, which means Buchner must reach out to schools first. Recruits typically use that tag when they have a clear understanding of which programs they’re considering.

Buchner is listed at 6-foot-1, 215-pounds and has a 56.8% completion rate across two years with six passing touchdowns to eight interceptions. He’s a dual-threat quarterback and produced a 26-yard rush in his first collegiate play on Sept. 11, 2021 against Toledo. Buchner appeared in 10 games for the Fighting Irish that season, mostly playing late in games.

He started the opening two games under first-year head coach Marcus Freeman, losing a road contest to Ohio State and a home game to Marshall. In his home opener, Buchner sprained his AC joint to his left, non-throwing shoulder and underwent surgery. He returned for the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Dec. 30 against South Carolina and won the game’s MVP award with 335 yards of offense and five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing).

“Being up with us you see the game from a different vantage point. You see the game slow down a little bit for (Buchner). I think he understands, like he’s spent a lot of time next to me throughout this whole process and next to a lot of our coaches throughout this whole process. You kinda start looking at it like you put your eyes where the coach puts his eyes. … I think he understands the bigger picture of offensive football a little bit from seeing it at that vantage point. He’s a sharp kid to begin with,” Rees told reporters as he updated Buchner’s recovery at a press conference last December.

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Buchner was in his own starting quarterback competition this spring, though it appeared Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman was making a push with an efficient scrimmage showing with 189 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Buchner went 8-of-18 for 44 yards in the Blue-Gold game.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban stressed the importance of limiting turnovers at the position, something both Simpson and Milroe struggled with on A-Day. Throughout the Tide’s spring season, Saban has hinted at making additions through the portal. In the past, Alabama has looked at adding veteran players at plug-and-play positions.

“I think the people that have been in the program obviously have an advantage, to some degree, because they know the system, they’ve had a lot of reps in the system,” Saban said on Saturday. “But I also think everybody needs to ask themselves, with every position you play, are you playing winning football at that position and can you play winning football at that position? And I think that’s a better answer to the question, who can do that the best, and those are evaluations that we have to make as coaches at every position. We’ve tried to build this program here with the guys that we recruit and the people in the program, but we have had a few guys that have come in and made real impacts on the team. And we see an opportunity to do that, we’re always looking for a way to make our team better.”

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].