Report: Sam Hartman has timeline for Notre Dame football choice
Notre Dame did not take a quarterback from the transfer portal last offseason. It’s been long expected that will not be the case this year, and the domino could fall by the end of this week.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Monday morning that former Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman is still expected to choose Notre Dame, and his decision to join the Fighting Irish should come by the end of the week.
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Thamel has been on top of the story since he broke the news of mutual interest between Hartman and Notre Dame on Dec. 27. The month of December has been an eventful one in relation to activity by Irish signal-callers.
Junior Drew Pyne kicked it off when he announced he’d enter the portal on Dec. 2. He was officially admitted to the portal on the first day it opened on Dec. 5. Exactly two weeks later on Dec. 19, Pyne announced he’d transfer to Arizona State.
All the while, sophomore Tyler Buchner was preparing to start in the Gator Bowl. He returned to practice in November and was deemed “full-go” by head coach Marcus Freeman in early December, right around the same time Pyne decided to depart the program. Freeman said part of the reason for Pyne’s departure was that he told Pyne it was likely Notre Dame would be active in exploring the portal for a quarterback.
After rumors swirled that quarterback might be Hudson Card of Texas, Brennan Armstrong of Virginia or Devin Leary of NC State, all signs have pointed to Hartman in the last week. Card is headed to Purdue. Leary is off to Kentucky. Armstrong is undecided. Technically Hartman is, too, but as Thamel said Monday, that should change in a matter of days.
Hartman threw for 12,967 yards and an ACC-record 110 touchdown passes in five seasons at Wake Forest. He also tossed 41 interceptions on 1,597 attempts with a completion percentage of 59.1. In 2022, Hartman threw for 3,701 yards with 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on a career-best 63.1 percent passing. Hartman has also run for 856 yards and 17 touchdowns in his career.
Buchner, meanwhile, is coming off an MVP performance in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. He accounted for 335 total yards and 5 touchdowns in a 45-38 victory over South Carolina. He also threw 3 INTs, including two pick sixes. If Hartman does head to South Bend, an offseason competition with Buchner is expected.
The latter seems ready to take that head on.
“This off-season I’m going to continue to work as usual, put my head down, and I’m going to do it with my brothers,” Buchner said. “We’re continuing to improve, and we’re going to be a great team.”
