SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A few weeks after connecting with Jimmy Clausen while training in California, Notre Dame’s newest QB1 — Wake Forest grad transfer Sam Hartman — sought out another former five-star prospect who once landed at ND, Dayne Crist.
Both Hartman and Crist happened to be in the same party tent last Sunday helping out at the auction phase of the second-annual Golic SubPar Golf Classic fundraiser at Notre Dame. Their meeting was hardly coincidental, as Hartman continues to seek out former ND quarterbacks in honing his perspective prior to his first start in an Irish uniform, Aug. 26 against Navy in Dublin, Ireland.
“The No. 1 thing I shared is that being the quarterback at Notre Dame is really just taking it in and enjoying every second of it,” Crist told Inside ND Sports. “It was told to me a long time ago, ‘It’s a special, special fraternity.’ It’s obviously a different environment and atmosphere than where he was coming from, and I’m sure he’ll do great with all that. But enjoy it all.
“The fact that he was at another school for such a long period of time, I’m sure it’s a weird experience to come in and try to soak it up as quickly as you can, with the shot clock essentially going on, right? With limited time. So, really just trying to make the most of it.
“Beyond that, it seems like he’s doing all the right things. Guys are flocking to him and loving him. I had a chance to spend some time with the coaches [last] this week, and everybody had nothing but incredible things to say about him as a person, competitor, player, all that.”
Hartman, a three-star prospect himself coming out of high school and without a scholarship offer from Notre Dame at that time, arrived at ND in January as one of the most coveted imports in the most recent transfer portal cycle. After five seasons with Wake Forest, he has amassed nearly 13,000 passing yards and is the ACC’s career leader in TD passes with 110.
Crist ended up throwing for 20 scores during his four years at ND (2008-11) and his grad transfer season at Kansas (2012), reunited there with the man who recruited him to Notre Dame — former Irish head coach Charlie Weis.
Fifteen of Crist’s TD passes came during the 2010 season, Brian Kelly’s first in succeeding Weis. That season was truncated for the QB by a ruptured patella tendon on Oct. 30 against Tulsa, almost a year to the day after tearing an ACL the previous season in mop-up duty against Washington State.
Crist rehabbed and recovered from the two injuries, but he never fully regenerated from a football standpoint. What he did do was become a living/breathing/walking PSA for the 4-for-40 mantra current head coach Marcus Freeman makes central in his approach with prospective recruits.
Living in Manhattan Beach, Calif., with wife Hilary and 2 ½-year-old son Holden, Crist is principal at Bernstein Wealth Management. His reinvestment in Notre Dame is impressive as well.
Crist and his wife were married in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at ND in 2016 and later bought a condo in town to strengthen their ties to the school (Hilary is a Saint Mary’s grad).
“It’s a great opportunity to let Holden retrace Mom and Dad’s steps,” he said, “and that has just been one of the coolest experiences. Beyond that, it was important for us to have a presence in South Bend, a place that meant so much for us, to create that opportunity for our son and, God willing, future children.
“That was really important to us as we grow our family and our story. It was critical to us that we had a presence here as well. It’s part of what I shared with Sam — it’s a special fraternity and being able to point across the room and show that there’s multiple guys that we’re here to be supportive of Notre Dame players and the team and the community. Hopefully, that was reassuring, and validation and proof that it wasn’t just lip service.”
Crist also took time while in town last week to meet with former Irish running back Amir Carlisle, the Notre Dame football program’s director of player development since mid-March. Carlisle transferred to ND from USC shortly after Crist left for Kansas after the 2011 season.
“We talked about in year 2 for Marcus Freeman, and the additional layer he builds on the foundation. And the environment he’s created with former players has just been incredible,” Crist said. “That outreach is very intentional. It's not just for show. He wants guys around.
“The members of his coaching staff have all taken that on. When I spent an hour and a half with Amir Carlisle, we talked about ways to keep former players engaged and start building relationships with alumni. Really starting to think about what that road map looks like.”
During Blue-Gold Game weekend the past two Aprils, Freeman and former Irish offensive lineman Hunter Bivin (Carlisle’s predecessor and now assistant athletic director/alumni engagement) invited back hundreds of former players for Legacy Weekend experience.
More than 300 attended in 2022. In 2023, it was roughly 400. Before the initiative, typically around 20 former players came back to campus that weekend, per Bivin.
“So Amir and I talked about how to do more [and at other times of the year],” Crist said. “How we can just have more fun activities between the former players and current players. Just the fact that they’re being really thoughtful and intentional about those things is encouraging to me and for hundreds of former players, who all want to come help and give back and be resources.
“We want to kind of bridge that gap and piece that missing link together. I think that’s going to be huge and just another differentiating offering that Notre Dame’s able to bring to bear that other schools just don’t have at their disposal.
“So with Sam Hartman, I told him that everybody talks about Notre Dame and the resources Notre Dame has, and the alumni network. And I said, ‘Don’t be afraid to dive right into that.’ Everyone wants to support you and help you with whatever you need, but you also need to ask for help and ask for guidance when you need it. And there will be an abundance of folks who care about you and want to make sure you’re taken care of.’
“I think it’s a special place. You’re lucky to say you got to play a small piece in the history of Notre Dame football and have that kind of impact. That, I would say, was the most eye-opening for me both when I got there and over time.”
---------------------------------------------------------------
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND, @TJamesND and @cbowles01.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports
