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Yeah, once he is fully recovered from injury there is no doubt he has top tier athleticism. Probably not Wimbush level, but still elite for a QB.
With all the consternation in the McCarthy thread I think it's interesting that people don't appreciate how truly elite Buchner's physical skill set is. He has an unbelievable arm talent, and good size coupled with mobility. The only thing that can really derail him is injuries, and the only legitimate rationale for wanting McCarthy would've been that he was local and more likely to stick 1.5 years from taking a commitment.
It's more than being local. Future 4* DE Rodney McGraw is right next door in Elkhart but ND will have an uphill battle until NSD if they are ever in the race.
JJ's from a program (that was) tied to ND's hip. His feelings about ND were well known. We watched him grow 4" and start to look like a future P5 QB since he came on the radar. He plays against good 7A comp and won the state championship and lastly, he produced in a offense that produces DI players every year.
TB is in Cali, (though a former Chicagolander which he gets points for). He's a former Michigan commit, (subtract all points), No doubt he's a physical specimen. I'm a Bears guy and if Mitch Trubisky would have been this developed, JT Barrett or Malik Zaire would've gone someplace else because Trubisky would have had either spot he wanted. TB will put up Nintendo numbers at Bishop's because they play a trash schedule for a major metro area. Lastly is the production... there is none. I know it's coming but I have no idea if he's fully healed, if he's the same level of athlete he was before. And we don't get to find out until ND lost its shot at JJ. I can't ignore the unknown after an injury, that's the same reason I'm neutral on the AJ Henning and it appears he's not the same after hip flexor surgery based on reported track times.
All that said, I'm absolutely stoked to have TB, just wish the perfect demographic package that is JJ would have come along in a year that didn't have TB in it.