Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman: Joe Montana Incarnate?
Before you get mad, yes, that headline was typed with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek. Obviously, the Wake Forest transfer is not going to touch the legacy of Joe Montana. But there is a lot to be excited about when it comes to Sam Hartman.
Rare Success in Winston-Salem
Sam Hartman led the Demon Deacons to their best season in almost twenty years and he did it with his arm. There is no other way about it; Sam Hartman lit up the ACC. His poise in the pocket was unmatched.
Often he looks completely unbothered by any pressure coming into the pocket. He goes through his reads with such calmness that he might as well be at the breakfast table, reading the paper, and seeing his kids off to school.
He also appears to make any throw required of him. Fade route down the sideline with the safety providing help over the top? No problem. Sam will put it on the receiver’s back shoulder with plenty of room to get his feet in bounds. Out route in man coverage? He will put so much zip on the ball the defensive back won’t even have time to think about how he should move his feet, let alone undercut the route.
Sam Hartman would take the fight to Clemson and force double overtime before finally succumbing to Dabo Swinney’s souped-up squad. Thanks to Sam Hartman, Wake Forest was flying high…until they weren’t
Late Season Struggles of Hartman’s Deacons
About halfway through the season the wheels really fell off the Deacons’ dream season. It all started with a loss to Louisville, then continued with a loss to NC State, and didn’t get any better after the Deacons fell to 15th-ranked North Carolina.
In this stretch of games, Hartman did have a bit of the turnover bug. He threw three interceptions each to both Louisville and NC State. But the UNC loss can’t really be put on Hartman’s shoulders at all. It might actually be one of his motivators for transferring to Notre Dame. His stat line was amazing. He tossed for 320 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. His offense would light up the scoreboard and hang 34 points on UNC. The only problem is that the UNC offense would put up 36. Harman’s defense completely let him down. But through all of their struggles at the end of the season, Wake Forest would remain bowl eligible and Hartman would lead them to victory over SEC side Mizzou in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl…rolls right off the tongue.
So it’s obvious that I am a big Sam Hartman guy. He is going to be a real breath of fresh air after only having Drew Pyne or Tyler Buchner to look forward to on Saturdays. We won’t really know how Hartman will settle into a new offense after spending so long at Winston-Salem, but I will be airing on the side of optimism.
