Alabama OC Tommy Rees opens up on the intense competition for the starting QB role: "It's going to add an extra layer of development."

Tyler Buchner has a big fan in Alabama Crimson Tide's new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. They are both part of legendary coach Nick Saban's reshuffle at Alabama.

Tommy Rees arrived at 'Bama from Notre Dame amid a lot of fanfare. He managed to convince promising quarterback prospect Tyler Buchner to join as well.

Rees recruited Tyler Buchner from high school and spent two years with him at Notre Dame. He named Buchner the starting quarterback last season before a long injury layoff.

Rees spoke in detail regarding the addition of options via the transfer portal and what that could do to the program, which is aiming to reclaim its status as top dog.

"When he went into the portal, we looked at an opportunity to add competition to the room," Rees said. "I think competition at all positions is going to bring out the best in individuals. It's going to add an extra layer of development. It's going to allow people to rise with the competition."

The search for Bryce Young's successor has not been easy for Crimson Tide, with the quarterback question popping up more frequently.

Alabama have five prospects duking it out to become the starting quarterback. Ty Simpson, Eli Holstein, Tyler Buchner, Dylan Lonergan, and Jalen Miroe have their task cut out for them.

Rees was quite candid about how the coaching team was going to manage the prospects fighting it out to become the sole starting quarterback.

"One thing we're trying to get the whole quarterback group to understand is, when one guy has success, first of all, we need to look at it as shared success," Rees said. "We need to look at it as the group. We want to leave practice saying, the quarterback position, the quarterback group had a good day."

He expounded further on how the quarterbacks will all be handled during the season.

"The other thing we want to see is when one quarterback has success, it's going to challenge the rest of the group. And when we can do that, it's going to raise the level of play in the room. And so we don't want to look at it and shy away from it, we want to look at it as an opportunity to improve for the entire group."

Tyler Buchner's journey to Alabama

Tyler Buchner started at The Bishops School in La Jolla, California. The pandemic necessitated the cancellation of his final school year. He didn't play at his new school, Helix High School, either. Buchner still managed to join Notre Dame as a four-star recruit.

His entry into the transfer portal from Notre Dame came as a shock to everyone. He only had to visit Alabama once before he opted to join them and fight for the starting QB position.

With an offensive coordinator who clearly rates his talent and the support of Nick Saban, Tyler Buchner has all the ingredients to make the move a success.