Report: Notre Dame ‘expected’ to be pick for transferring Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman
The player seen as a possible quarterback target for Notre Dame if he became available intends to enter the transfer portal. And the Irish are already reportedly in strong position to land him.
Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman will enter the transfer portal and is expected to commit to Notre Dame, according to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel. He will be a sixth-year senior in 2023 and has one season of eligibility left.
Hartman completed his 2022 season in the Dec. 23 Gasparilla Bowl with a win over Missouri. He threw for 3,701 yards, 38 touchdowns and 12 interceptions with a 63.1 percent completion rate this year. He started 12 games, missing the opener with a blood clot issue. He became the ACC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes (110) in the bowl game, passing former Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd. He has started 45 career games for the Demon Deacons.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Hartman broke out in 2021, when he threw for 4,228 yards, 39 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He completed 58.9 percent of his passes and averaged 8.3 yards per attempt. He added 11 rushing scores. That season, Wake Forest went 10-4, won the ACC Atlantic Division and finished No. 15 in the final Associated Press Top 25.
All told, Hartman has thrown for 12,967 yards, 110 touchdowns and 41 interceptions. He has a career completion rate of 59.1 percent.
Hartman stated in November he would not use the COVID-19 bonus season to play one more year at Wake Forest. He would depart either for the NFL Draft or the transfer portal. Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson seemed to think the pro route was more likely at first, but hinted in a Dec. 21 press conference that Hartman had transfer opportunities available.
“There are people right now actively through third parties trying to recruit him,” Clawson said. “I think Sam wants to go to the NFL. He’s been made aware that if he goes in the portal, there’s going to be some very lucrative [NIL] opportunities for him, and it’s from very specific schools.”
Clawson did not name any teams involved.
Hartman is viewed as a Day 3 pick or an undrafted free agent if he declared for the 2023 NFL Draft, according to three NFL scouts Thamel surveyed.
If Hartman lands at Notre Dame, he will compete with junior-to-be Tyler Buchner for the starting job. Buchner was named the Irish’s starter in August, but suffered a severe shoulder sprain Sept. 10 that ended his regular season after two games. He returned from injury ahead of schedule and will start Friday’s Gator Bowl vs. No. 19 South Carolina.
Notre Dame’s other scholarship quarterbacks are junior Ron Powlus III, sophomore-to-be Steve Angeli and incoming freshman Kenny Minchey. Junior Drew Pyne, who started 10 games after Buchner went down, entered the transfer portal Dec. 5 and later committed to Arizona State. The Irish coaching staff told the quarterbacks after the regular season they would likely take a transfer at the position.
