Notre Dame QB signee Drew Pyne shines in Under Armour All-America Game
So much for Notre Dame signee Drew Pyne being 247Sports’ lowest-ranked quarterback competing at the Under Armour All-America Game.
Pyne outshined the other five quarterbacks participating Thursday in Orlando, Fla. He completed 9-of-11 passes for a game-high 121 yards and a touchdown and added three rushes for 16 yards.
Two other Irish signees were teammates with Pyne on Team Savage in its 30-24 loss to Team Pressure: running back Chris Tyree and long snapper Alex Peitsch. A handoff from Pyne at the goal line resulted in a one-yard touchdown from Tyree. He turned four carries into five yards.
The highlight of Pyne’s night came on a 42-yard touchdown to Ohio State wide receiver signee Julian Fleming. All three of Savage's drives with Pyne at quarterback resulted in points: two touchdowns and a field goal. He rotated with quarterbacks Haynes King (Texas A&M) and Robby Ashford (Oregon).
King started for Savage but completed just 3-of-12 passes for 48 yards. Ashford also struggled, totaling one yard on 1-of-8 passing. Hudson Card (Texas; 8-of-13 for 91 yards and a touchdown), Chandler Morris (Oklahoma; 6-of-12 for 77 yards) and Jeff Sims (Georgia Tech (5-of-11 for 27 yards) represented Pressure.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Pyne ranks lower than all of those quarterbacks. 247Sports rates him as a three-star recruit, the No. 18 pro-style quarterback and No. 743 overall player in the 2020 class. He had struggled earlier in the week after taking nearly a month off from competitive football activity.
A throwing shoulder injury sidelined Pyne for his final game at New Canaan (Conn.) High, a Dec. 9 playoff loss. He talked with head coach Brian Kelly about playing in the high school all-star game during an in-home visit last month.
“Coach Kelly talked about just coming down here,” Pyne said, “competing against the best guys in the country, adjusting to the speed and practicing with these guys. I think it was the best decision I could have made.
"Coming down here, I’ve really improved a lot. It feels more comfortable to play against these guys, and I’ll feel more comfortable going into college as well.”
Tyree said he feels like himself again this week after spending his senior season hobbled by a high ankle sprain. He claimed the trophy for an agility and speed competition named the “Blur Extreme Speed Drill” on Tuesday.
“Everything happens for a reason,” said Tyree regarding the injury. “I’m past that now, so I’m not really worried about it. I would say I’m 100-percent healthy right now. This is actually the first time I’ve tested on it in a while, and I feel really good.”
