Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman reveals three SEC schools who recruited him as grad transfer
Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman had interest from at least three SEC schools when he entered the transfer portal from Wake Forest after the 2022 Gasparilla Bowl, he confirmed Monday on the Dan Patrick Show.
The graduate student revealed that Florida and Auburn pursued him, and Alabama showed “a little bit” of interest before he eventually chose to transfer to Notre Dame.
“There were quite a few [schools recruiting me],” Hartman said. “You can think of any college that needed a quarterback, or was in need, was reaching out.”
Hartman chose Notre Dame, he told Dan Patrick Show host Dan Patrick, in large part because of the offense in which he would be playing. The decision has worked out so far — the Notre Dame told Patrick that he loves his Notre Dame teammates, and that the “thumbs up” he got from Joe Montana during the 42-3 win over Navy in Dublin, Ireland this past Saturday was one of the coolest moments of his life.
Hartman also revealed a wild story that led to him entering the transfer portal instead of declaring for the NFL draft. He heavily considered turning pro, as he felt like he was done with going to class and college football after five years at Wake Forest.
His brother, Joe Hartman, was a medical school student at the University of Florida. Joe and Sam share a resemblance, “as brothers do,” Sam Hartman told Patrick. Someone saw Joe walking around Gainesville and tweeted a photo, believing he was Sam, with the implication that the Demon Deacon quarterback had transferred to Florida.
Sam Hartman, sitting in a Wake Forest meeting room at the time, thought, “What are they talking about?” But the incident started a conversation.
“That kind of sparked a curiosity for us, and this process of like, ‘Hey, there might be potential for this being a legitimate idea,’” Hartman said. “And then we just kind of went through, once the season was over, looked at the prospects of different schools and felt like Notre Dame was the best fit.”
Hartman grew up a Michigan fan
In a less significant but slightly comical story, Hartman revealed to Patrick that he grew up a Michigan fan.
“I was a Michigan fan my entire life, until I got to college,” Hartman said.
Hartman said he stopped rooting for Michigan when the Wolverines stopped recruiting him. When Patrick repeated his words, asking, “Oh, they stopped recruiting you?” Hartman backtracked a bit.
“Well, they never really did,” Hartman said.
The Mount Pleasant (S.C.) Oceanside graduate had offers from Wake Forest, UNC-Charlotte and Elon out of high school. He chose the Demon Deacons, and the rest is history.
Hartman hated Ohio State more than Notre Dame, growing up as a Michigan fan. He’ll have a chance to take on the Buckeyes on Sept. 23.
