Marcus Freeman explains why NFL Combine is 'just a part of the story' for Sam Hartman
When Sam Hartman decided to transfer to Notre Dame, the goal was to improve his NFL Draft stock. He played in a slow mesh offense at Wake Forest, but a pro style scheme with the Fighting Irish looked like a chance to further prepare for a future in the NFL.
Now, Hartman is preparing to put his skills on display at the NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday with the other quarterback prospects. To Marcus Freeman, though, what happens at Lucas Oil Stadium is only one chapter in Hartman’s book.
Freeman spoke highly of his quarterback during an appearance on the NFL Network broadcast Friday, pointing out the intangibles that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet. Between his leadership and the way he handled multiple schemes, Freeman thinks Hartman is setup for success at the next level.
“I love Sam Hartman,” Freeman said. “His ability to come in and learn a new system in one year, to lead an offense, to lead a team to perform the way he performed, I have tremendous amount of respect for him. He is a great teammate, but he’s a great competitor. He won some big games for us and really did some elite things from the quarterback position. I know he’ll perform well here.
“The Combine is just a part of the story, the resume that you have. I think think Sam’s resume is tremendous.”
Hartman became the ACC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes at Wake Forest, but he had an up-and-down season at Notre Dame. He threw for 2,689 yards and 24 touchdowns as the Fighting Irish went 9-3 during the regular season in 2023. Still, he got the attention of scouts at the Senior Bowl last month, and he came in at No. 10 in ESPN analyst Jordan Reid’s top quarterback prospects on Feb. 2.
As for whether he’s ready to take on the NFL, Hartman told On3’s Andy Staples he can handle it. The Senior Bowl experience was just a taste of what’s to come.
“I feel incredibly prepared. It’s a cool experience,” Hartman said on Andy Staples On3. “They call it drinking out of a firehose right now. It’s just the ability — playing for so long and doing this for as long as I have — the ability to want to do that and then also be able to step back and kind of take a deep breath and rely on the people you’re closest to and roll with the punches.”