Over the past seven to eight seasons the Alabama Crimson Tide have enjoyed an embarrassment of riches at the QB position. With Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Bryce Young all starting signal-callers in the NFL, no other college program can lay claim to having four former QBs at once as NFL QB1s.
While that’s great, it also meant head coach Nick Saban had to replace the aforementioned Young, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, with an inexperienced player this season.
After two games and very mixed results with Jalen Milroe under center, Saban is making a switch to Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner. The move doesn’t really come as a surprise in the wake of Milroe’s uneven performance in the Tide’s 34-24 home loss to the Texas Longhorns last weekend. Many believed Saban might make a switch during the game, but he relented and stuck with Milroe. Now, after a week of practice Saban, is switching to Buchner.
Buchner Received Bull Of First-Team Snaps In Practice This Week
At every media session Saban has constantly reiterated that player evaluations are always ongoing. That was no different this week when the seven-time national title-winning coach talked to reporters about how he expects his team to respond to last week’s setback.
“We evaluate every position every week. If guys want security in their position, they need to play well,” Saban said. “Everybody on our team knows that. I think everybody has responded in a positive way to try to get better and to improve.”
“We’ll constantly evaluate that position as we do every other position,” Saban
And after evaluation Saban sees fit to make a change.
What Does Buchner Bring?
With Buchner under center the Tide will have a veteran who played in this offense under offensive coordinator Tommy Rees at Notre Dame. What he brings that the team didn’t get with Milroe is pocket presence, accuracy and more command of the offense. What the Tide will miss is Milroe’s legs and escapability that he’s become known for in Tuscaloosa.
The change itself comes on a week the Tide should win going away against the overmatched South Florida Bulls, but if Buchner can look the part he could solidify himself as the starter going forward.
