Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman accepts Senior Bowl invite
Former Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman is officially diving into the next phase of his career. He accepted an invitation to play in the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
The Senior Bowl takes place on Feb. 3. Each year, the top NFL Draft prospects converge upon Mobile, Ala., for a week of workouts culminating in the matchup of two teams. Scouts and coaches from all 32 teams will be on hand to grade prospects such as Hartman, former Notre Dame linebacker JD Bertrand and more.
Hartman transferred to Notre Dame for his sixth season of college football in 2023. He came in as probably the most prized transfer portal quarterback recruit in the country for what he did at Wake Forest. In five seasons in Winston-Salem, including the better parts of four as a starter, he threw for 12,967 yards and 110 touchdowns.
As a 12-game starter for Notre Dame, Hartman went 191-of-301 (63.5 percent) for 2,689 yards, 24 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. His interception total was the lowest of his career in any season in which he played at least 10 games. He also had the highest yards per attempt (8.9) mark of any year in his career.
Hartman finished his career with the fifth-most passing yards (15,656) in NCAA history. He’s tied with Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell for the third-most passing touchdowns (134).
Still, Hartman’s lone season in South Bend was marred by losses to Ohio State, Louisville and Clemson. The Notre Dame offense was more or less inept in all three of the defeats. In Notre Dame’s nine wins with Hartman at the controls, though, he completed 66.8 percent of his passes and threw for 234.9 yards per game with 21 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
Hartman left Wake Forest to prove to NFL scouts he could thrive in a pro-style offense. It’s murky whether he accomplished that goal. According to a Pro Football Focus ranking released toward the end of December, Hartman was the No. 15 quarterback prospect eligible for this year’s draft. There were 14 quarterbacks taken in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Hartman is looking to become the first quarterback from Notre Dame taken in the NFL Draft since Ian Book went in the fourth round in 2021. There have been five Notre Dame quarterbacks selected in the draft since the turn of the century; Jarious Jackson (seventh round, 2000), Brady Quinn (first round, 2007), Jimmy Clausen (second round, 2010), DeShone Kizer (second round, 2017) and Book.
