Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman tweets support for Irish after Tommy Rees exit to Alabama
Any Notre Dame fans who were worried offensive coordinator Tommy Rees going to Alabama would change Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback Sam Hartman‘s mind about spending his final year of collegiate eligibility in South Bend, think again. It appears he’s all in on the Irish.
Hartman tweeted a video of himself in Notre Dame’s weight room with the caption, “Live from the Gug. #GoIrish @NDFootball” just a few hours after news of Rees leaving the Irish for the Crimson Tide broke on Friday afternoon.
Rees played a big role in getting Hartman to choose Notre Dame as his transfer portal destination. Hartman announced his decision to suit up for the Irish on Jan. 5. Less than a month later, Rees is on his way to team up with 71-year-old seven-time national championship head coach Nick Saban at Alabama.
Things moved quickly for Rees this week. Thursday, ESPN’s Chris Low reported that Rees took a video call with Saban. Thursday, an Alabama airplane took Rees from South Bend, Ind., to Tuscaloosa, Ala. Friday, the news came out that Rees was leaving his alma mater for the same position at Bama.
He’s bidding farewell to the ACC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes. Hartman threw 110 TDs at Wake Forest in the last five years. Seventy-seven of those came in the last two seasons when he led Wake Forest to a 19-8 record and two bowl game victories.
Hartman is the favorite to start for Notre Dame in 2023. The Irish have rising junior Tyler Buchner in the quarterback room as well, but his development was set back by a shoulder injury that held him out of 10 games in 2022. He returned in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl vs. South Carolina and was named game MVP after he accounted for five total touchdowns.
It’s going to be hard for Buchner to beat out Hartman. There is a reason Rees reeled him in. He was excited to team up with one of the most prolific quarterbacks in college football in the last two seasons. But things change in a hurry. Like former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly last year, Rees has new digs in the SEC. Former longtime daily coworkers, those two are now annual rivals.
