Ex-Arizona St., Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne to transfer to Missouri - ESPN

Former Arizona State and Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne is transferring to Missouri, he told ESPN in a phone interview on Sunday.

Pyne told ESPN he committed on a trip to Columbia this weekend, the only place he's visited. He will enroll after the spring semester and expects to have three years of eligibility remaining.

Pyne began his career at Notre Dame, where he went 8-2 as a starter and arrived there as an ESPN 300 recruit. He returned to Notre Dame this semester in order to graduate with a Notre Dame degree. He is spending the semester as a regular student wand is working out five days a week with a trainer.

Pyne said the time away from a program gave him the opportunity to look for the «right situation,» which he said he found at Missouri.

«From the beginning, Missouri stood out,» he told ESPN. «The program has great momentum as one of the best in the SEC and to be one of the best in the country. Being on campus and talking to the coaches, I understand why they had such a great season last year.

»I believe strongly that they are going to be a big-time player in college football. I'm hoping to contribute to that however I can."

The likely scenario for Pyne will be to back up multiyear Missouri starter Brady Cook in 2024, and he called Cook a «good buddy» who he'd met at the Manning Passing Academy. From there, he expects to have two years of eligibility remaining and will contend for the starting quarterback job.

Pyne will enter the 2024 season as one of the SEC's most productive backup quarterbacks. He's thrown for 2,530 career yards, including 11 career starts. While at Notre Dame, he went 4-1 against Top 25 teams and in 2022 he threw for 22 touchdowns, six interceptions and completed 64.6-percent of his passes.