After a long and tremendous career with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, quarterback Sam Hartman transferred to Notre Dame for his final season in 2023. Hartman was a vital part of that 10-3 campaign, throwing for 2,689 yards and 24 touchdowns, adding another three scores on the ground.
In total, the talented quarterback put together a historical career in college. He threw for a whopping 15,656 and 134 touchdowns. Hartman also rushed for another 20 scores on the ground. Those experiences, including two programs and six years, have prepared Hartman for this transition. He is excited to use that to his advantage, including a couple key components that make him stand out at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.
“I think it's resiliency in games and self awareness,” Hartman said about what separates him. “I think a big thing is being a leader out there and I think everybody is a leader. Everybody's the captain. I've been a captain at two different spots for years. Out of my six, I’ve been a captain four times. I've had two almost career ending life threatening injuries. I played in something like 50 games.
“There’s just a lot behind me and a lot in front of me and I’m so excited,” Hartman added “Whatever opportunity I get to make the most of it, I’m going to try and take advantage of it.”
The background that Hartman has is something he wants to showcase this week. He also wants to show that he’s a good athlete, who can win games with his legs as well.
“That's a great question,” Hartman said. “I think I'm going to go out there and give it everything I have. I know I had a long career in college football and none of this stuff is too big. The speed and agility and stuff, I can run. I can move. I just wanna go out there and prove that I have that ability.”
When you talk about experience, nobody has more of it than Hartman. That is also a major selling point to the prospective NFL teams. Hartman is hoping that makes him standout.
“I think it's huge,” Hartman explained. “I think the one thing with this whole draft class, especially with the quarterbacks, is we're all pretty old except for Drake (Maye). I think it's a great opportunity for me to be able to show knowledge of the game. I've played in two systems and went into two locker rooms as a captain in life and sitting in the interviews and going to talk to the coaches.”
After a long journey, which had a ton of trials tribulations, Hartman is ready to prove his worth to all the NFL personnel in attendance. That’s all he could ask for, opportunity.
“I've worked on the offseason to kind of hone in on my forty, the jumps, everything,” he explained. “On the field, just feeling smooth, quick, being accurate, getting it all out on time and making some completions and showing some velocity behind it. I think at the end of the day, I want to go out there and have fun. I think it's an unbelievable opportunity for me to go out and say that I got to go to the Combine so that I'm here. It's just incredible.”
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