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SportsMoney How Notre Dame Transfer Quarterbacks Fared At Their New Schools By Tom Layberger ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about college football and sports in the Tampa Bay region. Follow Author Jul 28, 2026, 11:00pm EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary Kenny Minchey is the latest Notre Dame quarterback to transfer, joining Kentucky's new-look offense under first-year coach Will Stein. Minchey, who saw limited action in three seasons with the Fighting Irish, expressed optimism about his SEC opportunity. Other recent quarterbacks that left South Bend for potentially greener pastures include Drew Pyne, who made it a habit of transferring from school to school, and Tyler Buchner. A former Ohio State teammate of Kirk Herbstreit's also transferred from underneath the Golden Dome.
George Haffner averaged a robust 18.3 yards per completion quarterbacking Joe Kuharich’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1960. He also completed less than 30 percent of his passes and 11 of his 108 attempts were picked off. Frank Budka – 14 interceptions in 95 attempts -- and Daryle Lamonica took over in 1961 while Haffner left South Bend only to emerge at McNeese State in 1964.
Several other quarterbacks have moved on from Notre Dame, most recently Kenny Minchey, who will be the centerpiece of a new-look Kentucky offense under first-year coach Will Stein and new offensive coordinator Joe Sloan.
“Going to Notre Dame out of high school, it was just a decision that was best for me and my family and my situation,” Minchey said at SEC media days in Tampa. “Then obviously coming to Kentucky, coming to the SEC, I just think it was a great opportunity.”
The Tennessee native’s resume is sparse (29 pass attempts) having spent the past three seasons behind starters C.J. Carr, Riley Leonard, Sam Hartman and assorted others on the depth chart. including Steve Angeli. In Lexington, Minchey, who has two years of eligibility, has the opportunity to show what he can do under a 36-year-old head coach who was the offensive coordinator at Oregon for three seasons working with Dante Moore, Dillon Gabriel and Bo Nix.
“I know people like to talk about him being a first-year head coach and all that stuff, but he definitely knows how to lead and knows how to rally the troops, which I’ve noticed for sure,” Minchey said of Stein, who agreed to a five-year, $28.5-million pact in December.
Here is a look at some of the quarterbacks who preceded Minchey in transferring out of South Bend.
Albeit in a small sample size, Angeli sparkled (72.5 CMP%, 10 TD/1 INT) in backing up Riley Leonard in 2024 and Sam Hartman in 2023. He transferred to Syracuse to play for fellow New Jersey native, Fran Brown, and was off to a strong start (10 TDs) before suffering a season-ending injury (torn Achilles tendon) in SU’s fourth game at Clemson. Angeli is healthy ahead of his final season.
Buchner entered the portal following his injury-abbreviated 2022 season and transferred to Alabama. His lone start with the Crimson Tide was an early-season affair at USF in 2023 when Nick Saban benched Jalen Milroe. It was a mess. Buchner was 5-for-14 for 34 yards before being replaced by Ty Simpson late in the first half of a 3-3 game that ‘Bama ultimately won. Buchner did not throw another pass in a Tide uniform and returned to South Bend in 2024 to play two seasons (one pass attempt) while serving mostly as a holder on special teams. He also played lacrosse and was a member of the Irish’s national championship team in 2024.
Pyne was given the keys to the offense when Tyler Buchner sustained a season-ending injury against Marshall in the second game of the 2022 season. He went 8-2 as the starter and was 19 th nationally in pass efficiency. Yet, he entered the portal and kept entering the portal spending his final three mostly injury-riddled years at Arizona State (2023), Missouri (2024) and Bowling Green (2025). Pyne made fewer starts (eight) in those three years than he did with the Irish in 2022. Six of those starts were for Eddie George’s Bowling Green Falcons last year, his final season of eligibility.
Wimbush earned the top job in 2017, his third year with Brian Kelly’s program. It did not go well, at least through the air as he ranked 109 th of 112 qualifying quarterbacks in completion percentage (49.5). He ran for 14 touchdowns, which was the school record by a QB before Riley Leonard (17) broke it in 2024. Wimbush lost his job to Ian Book early in 2018 and transferred to UCF for his final season of eligibility in 2019. With McKenzie Milton on the mend from a horrific leg injury late in the 2018 season and Darriel Mack, Jr. out with a broken ankle, Wimbush started the Knights’ 2019 opener and rout of Florida A&M. Freshman Dillon Gabriel started the following week and never looked back. After attempting 23 passes in the opener, Wimbush threw one pass the rest of the season.
Wimbush earned a spot of Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in 2025 for his work as a co-founder with a company that connects businesses and student-athletes for the purpose of NIL deals.
Zaire, who did not have the luck of the Irish during his career, appeared in 17 games and attempted 98 passes in four seasons in South Bend. After redshirting in 2013, he backed up Everett Golson in 2014 and won the starting job in 2015 only to suffer a season-ending ankle injury. DeShone Kizer ran the offense the remainder of that season, which led to a competition between he and Zaire that lasted into the early stages of the 2016 schedule. Kizer won the job with Zaire serving as No. 2 before transferring to Florida as a grad student for the 2017 season. He played in four games with the Gators, including a pair of starts before suffering another season-ending injury, which was also a career-ender.
In two stints as the Irish quarterback in 2011-2012 and 2014, Golson ...
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