Pyne is in a weird spot.

ND is rightfully looking to the portal to enhance its QB depth chart. There are lots of options out there that would more than likely be better players than Drew Pyne. Additionally, the player he lost the job to this season will be coming back healthy in the spring. Unlike Kizer in 2015 (a similar situation, with the injury to Zaire in game 2) Pyne did not perform at a very high level (and even in Kizer’s case, he had to split the opener the next year with Zaire, though I think that was a BK mismanagement).

Pyne, meanwhile, could hurt his football career now by not making the move for the spring semester. Not only from the standpoint of getting to the new school for spring practice to learn the system/practice with his new teammates, but to have a spot there in the first place. Coaches likely want a QB they’re bringing in to be there in the spring. It’s unfortunately a game of transfering QB musical chairs, and Pyne runs the risk of not having a seat at a preferred destination if he doesn’t make the move now.

In a perfect world (or an imperfect college football world, but one pre-2019), he’d stay through spring, compete for the job, likely not emerge the winner of the competition, and then transfer in June. But we don’t live in that world.