Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman has entered the transfer portal, The Athletic has learned, with Notre Dame leading the way to land the record-breaking signal caller. Here’s what you need to know:
- Hartman started with the Demon Deacons for portions of five seasons and broke the ACC record for career touchdown passes (110) in his wake final, a 27-17 win over Missouri in the Gasparilla Bowl on December 23.
- He featured the Deacs’ unique slow-mesh offensive system, but there are questions about how that translates to the pro level.
Where might Hartman end up?
Notre Dame and several SEC schools have been pursuing Hartman, several people with knowledge of the recruiting told The Athletic.
Hartman has long said he intends for 2022 to be his final collegiate season, but he’s now trying to use a sixth year elsewhere to improve his NFL draft stash. — Fortune
What does Hartman bring to the table?
Hartman’s 12,967 passing yards is the second-best in ACC history. He started 2018 as a true freshman, including the fourth game of the year, against Notre Dame, and led Wake to the 2021 ACC title game where the Deacs fell to Pitt.
Hartman served as Wake’s captain three times. He missed most of this fall’s training camp and the first game of the season due to a blood clot in his left arm. He rebounded and threw for 3,701 yards, 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and completed a career-best 63.1 percent of his passes.
Simply put, Hartman is the top-grossing quarterback in the collegiate market this offseason. At the start of the season he will be 24 years old. And Notre Dame is hosting Wake Forest on October 28th.
Wake offensive lineman Sean Maginn told The Athletic of Hartman last season, “The guy loves everyone on the team. He gets along with everyone like a quarterback should. And just knowing that someone special is hurling that rock after them just makes the offensive line tense a little bit longer because you know they have that it factor, and if you can give them just a millisecond extra — like Syracuse in this game over time , we knew make an effort just protect that turn and let him get rid of that ball. And he does such special things. So it’s really neat. And you just enjoy it as an offensive line, and you want to protect the guy for as long as possible so he can make those plays. — Fortune
What Would Adding Hartman Mean to Notre Dame’s Quarterback Room?
For starters, it would mean that Marcus Freeman’s honest play in informing Notre Dame’s quarterback room of his intentions to add a transfer was a smart play. The decision sent Drew Pyne into the transfer portal, which ended in signing the 10-game starter to Arizona State. Now he could be replaced by a five-year starting quarterback in Hartman, who threw 110 career touchdown passes at Wake Forest. This is a significant upgrade from a game manager to a game winner.
The trickier part of the equation is what happens to Tyler Buchner, who Freeman said would start the Gator Bowl against South Carolina. If Buchner stars, it could lead to legitimate competition with Hartman during spring training. If Buchner looks no different than the quarterback who struggled against Ohio State and Marshall, it likely means another year of learning from an established veteran, perhaps similar to his first year behind Jack Coan. Of course, that assumes that Buchner doesn’t follow Pyne out of the program.
Hartman would also keep Notre Dame’s quarterback room old, which was part of the program’s success prior to this season. Coan started as a fifth grader when Notre Dame went 11-2. Ian Book’s last two college seasons as a fourth and fifth grader ended in a 21-4 record and a trip to the college football playoffs. — Samson
What does a two-time transfer in three years say about the development of Tommy Rees and the quarterback?
That’s a valid question, although nobody asks it to Lincoln Riley.
For Rees, quarterback development was better than quarterback plug-and-play when it came to recruiting. Four-star Phil Jurkovec was a bust for Notre Dame, but Book became the program’s all-time winning leader. The jury is out Buchner, and Pyne may have excelled for his stature, finishing the regular season ranked 20th nationally in passer efficiency.
Notre Dame’s transfer policies to date have been to prop up weaknesses, not bolster strengths. Taking Hartman would represent pretty much the same thing.
However, it’s worth noting that Notre Dame just signed four-star quarterback Kenny Minchey and signed four-star CJ Carr for the next cycle, with the Michigan prospect having a five-star recruit on the sidelines. The point is that Notre Dame will throw more talent at the quarterback problem in high school recruiting over the next two years than it did with Pyne, Book, Brendon Clark, or Steve Angeli, who might be the biggest loser in a Hartman pickup . The freshman quarterback could be considering a second season on the scout team, with his path to the No. 2 potentially blocked by Hartman and Buchner. — Samson
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(Photo: Nathan Ray Seebeck / USA Today)