Wake's Sam Hartman enters the transfer portal, expected to land at ND
That Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman’s last game for the Demon Deacons would be Friday’s Gasparilla Bowl has been clear for quite some time.
On Tuesday, he took a step toward clarifying what’s next by entering the NCAA transfer portal with the expected evolution of that move being a landing spot at Notre Dame for the 2023 spring semester.
Still.
On Friday morning we shared with our subscribers on The Insider Lounge a report by Conor O’Neill of Rivals partner Deacons Illustrated citing an anonymous source in reporting Hartman will eventually transfer to Notre Dame. By rule, Notre Dame’s staff could not contact Hartman prior to him entering the transfer portal. But it hasn’t been a secret that Notre Dame has been looking for a transfer quarterback, either.
ESPN's Pete Thamel reiterated the likelihood of Hartman-to-Notre Dame on Tuesday, prior to Hartman's portal plunge.
Hartman, a would-be sixth-year grad transfer, pondered entering the 2023 NFL Draft. He’ll have one year of eligibility at his next school. After Wake Forest took care of Missouri, 27-17, on Friday evening at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Hartman, during a postgame press conference, said he would “find the place with the coldest drinks,” when asked about his process moving forward.
And the coldest weather, too, it appears.
Rivals' transfer tracker rates Hartman as the 20th-best prospect to have entered the portal this cycle and the No. 4 quarterback behind NC State's Devin Leary, Clemson's DJ Uiagalelei and Coast Carolina's Grayson McCall. While McCall remains uncommitted, Leary is headed to Kentucky and Uiagalelei to Oregon State.
Typically, Notre Dame hosts transfer recruits for visits prior to taking commitments. The Irish signed graduate transfers Kaleb Smith, a Virginia Tech wide receiver, and Spencer Shrader, a South Florida kicker, on Wednesday. They’ve also added a preferred walk-on transfer commitment from Penn punter Ben Krimm. All three made trips to campus prior to committing to the Irish.
Following Christmas weekend, 21st-ranked Notre Dame reconvened in Jacksonville, Fla., on Monday to resume preparing for Friday’s Gator Bowl against No. 10 South Carolina at TIAA Bank Field (3:30 p.m. EST on ESPN). The transfer recruiting calendar has shifted to a dead period until Jan. 4, so Notre Dame likely can’t host him on campus until the Jan. 4-8 quiet period for midyear transfers.
If Hartman ends up transferring to Notre Dame, the Irish will be adding the all-time leading touchdown passer in ACC history. Hartman broke Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd’s record of 107 touchdown passes with his first touchdown throw in Friday’s game. Hartman, a fifth-year senior and captain, finished the game 23-of-36 passing (63.9%) for 280 yards and three touchdowns with one interception.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Hartman entered the bowl game leading the FBS in average depth of target (12.9 yards) for quarterbacks with at least 300 dropbacks in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus data. Notre Dame’s 10-game starter Drew Pyne, who has since signed to transfer to Arizona State, averaged 8.0 yards of target depth this season.
Prior to bowl season, Hartman ranked among the top 15 FBS quarterbacks in four traditional categories: touchdown passes (35, tied for 5th), passing yards per game (311.0, 7th), passing efficiency (160.2, 12th) and passing yards per completion (13.85, 13th). He did that in an offense that allowed three sacks per game in the regular season. Notre Dame, by comparison, allowed 1.58 sacks per game.
Hartman missed the first game of the season while working his way back from an August surgery to remove a blood clot from a condition known as Paget-Schroetter syndrome or effort thrombosis. That procedure required one of his ribs to be removed. He’s kept the rib in his refrigerator, he told reporters earlier this month. Hartman was given the ACC’s Brian Piccolo Award, which recognizes the most courageous football player in the conference.
In 2021, Hartman was a finalist for a pair of quarterback honors: the Manning Award and the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He was also a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year. Hartman threw for 3,421 yards, 39 touchdowns and 14 interceptions with a 58.9% completion rate (299-of-508). He also rushed for 363 yards and 11 touchdowns on 117 carries.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman informed Pyne following the regular season that Notre Dame would be looking for a quarterback in the transfer portal. Not long after, Pyne entered the portal himself and found a path to Arizona State.
“We’ve always said if we’re going to get somebody out of the portal,” Freeman said Wednesday, “they have to be somebody we know that can come in and make an immediate impact and really help this football team win games right away.”
Hartman would enter a quarterback room at Notre Dame that includes current sophomores Tyler Buchner and Ron Powlus III and freshman Steve Angeli. Early enrollee Kenny Minchey, who signed with ND last week, joins them on Jan. 17, when spring-semester classes begin.
On Monday Freeman confirmed that Buchner, who started the first two games of the season before injuring his shoulder, will return to the starting lineup for the Irish (8-4) in the Gator Bowl against South Carolina (8-4).
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. excluded Hartman in his latest ranking of the top 10 quarterback prospects for the 2023 NFL Draft. The general consensus from draft analysts has Hartman pegged as a Day 3 (rounds 4-7) prospect.
Hartman can use the COVID-19 eligibility relief to play his sixth season of college football. He redshirted as a sophomore in 2019. Hartman signed with Wake Forest as a three-star recruit out of Mount Pleasant (S.C.) Oceanside Collegiate Academy. Rivals ranked him as the No. 31 quarterback in the 2018 class.
As a true freshman, Hartman opened the 2018 season as a starter. Three weeks later, he started in a 56-27 home loss to Notre Dame. Ian Book, who left Notre Dame following the 2020 season as the program’s all-time winningest quarterback, was the winning quarterback that day in his second career start.
Wake Forest plays at Notre Dame on Oct. 28 next season.
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