Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne Announces He's Transferring, Won't Play In Irish Bowl Game

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Drew Pyne has played his last snap of football at Notre Dame.

The sophomore quarterback stepped in and led Notre Dame to an 8-2 record after Tyler Buchner suffered a season-ending injury.

Now, Pyne has decided to continue his career elsewhere.

Drew Pyne announces that he's leaving Notre Dame. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

"One of my proudest honors is to have been a student-athlete at the University of Notre DAme. I have been blessed to be among great coaches and teachers and play with teammates that I consider brothers. Our bonds will be lifelong. Now, it's time for me to take on a new challenge, and I will be entering the transfer portal," Pyne announced Friday afternoon.

Pyne's decision also means the Irish will be a quarterback short for their bowl game.

Drew Pyne has left the building.

This is a bit of a surprise given how the season shook out. The only logical explanation is that Pyne doesn't think he can beat out Buchner this spring.

Why would he think that? Pyne played very well this season when pressed into action, and Buchner looked far from impressive during Notre Dame's 0-2 start.

Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne is leaving the program. Where will he go? (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

On the season, Pyne threw for 2,021 yards and 22 touchdowns to six interceptions. He also now has much more game experience than Buchner, and it's not particularly close. Pine has thrown the ball 287 times in his career. Buchner has thrown it just 85 times for the Fighting Irish.

Now that he is in the portal, you can bet plenty of teams will be interested in getting him to show up on campus and get under center. Pyne is without question one of the best transfer QBs in the portal.

Drew Pyne is transferring. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

It's a mind-boggling decision, but something tells me Pyne will continue to have success wherever he goes. If Buchner struggles next season, the Fighting Irish might come to regret letting Drew Pyne walk out of the building.