Alabama’s first player in the transfer portal may not play football next year.
Alabama backup quarterback Tyler Buchner entered the NCAA transfer portal on Monday but it looks like he is done trying his hand at football because he is entering the portal as a men’s lacrosse player, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Buchner, the backup to Crimson Tide starter Jalen Milroe, played lacrosse in high school and was considered a top recruit in the sport.
Thamel reported that Buchner is expecting to explore his lacrosse options in spring 2024, but is not ruling out a return to football.
Buchner, who was Notre Dame’s starting quarterback briefly in 2022, committed to play lacrosse at Michigan when he was in eighth grade but he instead landed at Notre Dame in 2021. He started for the Fighting Irish for three games last season but was knocked out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury.
Alabama brought Buchner to Tuscaloosa after spring practice, looking to join the quarterback competition with Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson. He wound up making just one start against USF. In that game, he finished with 34 passing yards and 11 rushing yards.
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It’s unclear where Buchner will end up next fall, whether he plays lacrosse or goes back to football somewhere.
Milroe and Alabama, after edging out Florida State for the final playoff spot, will take on top-seeded Michigan in the Rose Bowl.
