You’re not in Winston-Salem anymore, Sam. The gold helmet no longer has any interlocking letters on it. The goal is no longer a conference championship game appearance.
All due respect to Wake Forest, and a bounty of it is due to Dave Clawson’s program, but No. 13 Notre Dame has greater aspirations. That’s why it went out and pulled in sixth-year quarterback Sam Hartman, the biggest transfer on the market this offseason.
Think about that for a second. The Irish have not landed the biggest name in recruiting since … perhaps ever. Manti Te’o was only the No. 12 prospect in the class of 2009, per rivals.com, trailing players like USC quarterback Matt Barkley (No. 5), Trent Richardson (No. 6) and Vontaze Burfict (No. 9). Of every new addition to rosters for the 2023 season, Hartman was the biggest.
Marcus Freeman’s debut season saw what happens when an otherwise solid team lacks a quality quarterback. Again all due respect, this time to Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner, but Notre Dame never had a Playoff ceiling in 2022 with those arms behind center. Pyne is not physically talented enough; Buchner lacks the necessary experience.
So Freeman and former Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees set to fixing the worry by chasing the biggest fish in the pond. There is no exaggeration there. Devin Leary (North Carolina State) found a fit at Kentucky, D.J. Uiagalelei (Clemson) got a fresh start at Oregon State, and Cade McNamara (Michigan) will have a chance to spark a broken offense at Iowa. But no other team in the AP preseason top 15 will start a new transfer quarterback in 2023. No other team with genuine Playoff aspirations will start a new transfer quarterback in 2023. The Irish would not be at No. 13 in that poll or have reasonable hopes of making the Playoff (+750 at Caesar’s) if they had anyone else at quarterback, including Leary, Uiagalelei or McNamara.
Now Hartman has to live up to that billing. Not that such pressure will intimidate him.
He is effectively starting his eighth year of the college experience considering he committed to Wake Forest in July of 2016. Citing other, matriculated college players to show how old Hartman is fails because so many have taken the same advantage of the universal pandemic eligibility waiver that he is, but he was in the same recruiting class as Trevor Lawrence and former Notre Dame tight end Tommy Tremble, both entering their third years in the NFL.
When Navy head coach Brian Newberry (51 years old) joked on Thursday that “I think he’s just a few years younger than me,” he was embellishing by only a touch. Hartman turned 24 last month.
“We all know who he is,” Newberry said. “He’s a winner, he’s a leader, he adds a different element to their offense. … He has a way better beard than me.”
The first wonder around Hartman was how he would fit into the Irish locker room. Both Pyne and Buchner were well-liked, partly because of how well they each handled their quarterback competition in 2022. Freeman’s telling both that they were not good enough to dissuade him from finding a quarterback in the transfer portal could have naturally alienated some of the roster against Hartman.
“He’s been awesome,” Freeman said Thursday of Hartman leaning into that leadership role. “He’s really done a good job giving our players a couple things with a pair of shoes and the Beats headphones. He’s really gotten those guys in his corner.
“Sam’s just a great teammate and a really great leader. He pushes those guys, but it’s from a level of trust. They trust him.”
To this point all the Irish roster has really needed to trust Hartman for is his marketability. And yes, those Under Armour SlipSpeeds look very comfortable. But strong preseason practices and a few comped gift bags are not why Notre Dame brought in Hartman. Nor is it why he went to Notre Dame.
Taking care of the guys 🤩@UnderArmour paired up with @sam_hartman10 to gift our guys with SlipSpeeds before our trip to Dublin.
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 18, 2023
#UASlipSpeed | #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/JbAM88K4Xe
“He’s excited to play,” Freeman said. “I met with him yesterday, kind of one-on-one. I said, ‘Hey, this is your sixth year. You’ve played a lot of games. Let’s relax. …
“I know he’s excited to get out there on Saturday, but I’m going to try to keep him focused the next two days.”
The Irish still lack proven receivers. Therein lies Hartman’s greatest challenge.
An offseason spent trying to get his teammates to play “for” him rather than merely “with” him will not yield much in the way of results if Hartman cannot get the absolute most out of senior Chris Tyree, junior Jayden Thomas and sophomore Tobias Merriweather.
Notre Dame will not take it easy on Navy — not that it ever really does, last year’s second half aside; the Irish have averaged 40.9 points per game against the Midshipmen since Brian Kelly’s second year in South Bend in 2011 — but more than usual, Notre Dame needs to make the most of its offensive advantages against the service academy.
“They’re a big, physical offense,” Newberry said, assuredly knowing the Irish scored 40.3 points per game in his three games as the opposing defensive coordinator. “They’ve got three really good players coming back for the O-line. They’re talented everywhere across the board.
“The acquisition of Sam Hartman is huge for them. He’s a really good player. … You can’t put a price tag on a guy like him, what he does. It sounds like he’s really galvanized their football team, the offensive unit.”
But will galvanizing lead to Saturday results? New Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker has a short learning curve ahead of him, No. 3 Ohio State awaiting in less than a month. Knowing what Hartman and his receivers can put together will be the first step to crafting a game plan to top the Buckeyes.
Hartman’s deep touch sparked the Demon Deacons offense the last few seasons. He does not complete as high a percentage of his passes as recent Irish quarterbacks, but that is because he pushes the ball downfield, averaging 8.5 yards per pass attempt the last two seasons.
Navy’s defense may be outmatched no matter Notre Dame’s quarterback, but Hartman proving that deep touch will work with Tyree, Thomas and Merriweather would change the entire outlook of the Irish season before any other team in the country begins.
The pitch at Aviva Stadium. pic.twitter.com/lObu2qNklP
— Irish Sports Daily (@ISDUpdate) August 24, 2023
Junior running back Audric Estimé already took off a practice here and there in the preseason, no need to risk a minor injury to the most proven piece of Notre Dame’s offense, a possible bellcow the likes of which is rarely seen in college football anymore. Establishing proof of concept of Hartman’s arm in a plain gold helmet may be reason enough to lesson Estimé’s load this weekend, too.
Behind Estimé, pure curiosity wants to know the running back pecking order. Sophomores Gi’Bran Payne and Jadarian Price remain in competition with Penn State transfer Devyn Ford for carries. Someone will emerge as the primary No. 2 running back. Someone always does. Saturday’s fourth quarter may be the first indication of who that will genuinely be.
Otherwise, the biggest things to learn this weekend (2:30 ET on NBC) may be about Navy’s offense. The NCAA limiting cut blocks has acutely impacted option offenses. Newberry tapped Kennesaw State offensive coordinator Grant Chestnut for that role in Annapolis to try to find a middle ground between the triple-option that best utilizes the body types that can get into the military academy and an offense that is effective in college football in the 2020s.
“I feel really good about where we’re at and how that offense has evolved,” Newberry said. “It’s been a work in progress. I had a vision of what I wanted it to look like. … Not only did I work with [Chesnut] prior, he’s brought an edge and a toughness to our offense along with some outside-the-box creativity in what we’re doing.”
More than the NCAA attempting to shorten games by running the clock on first downs outside of the final two minutes of a half, the piece of the evolving game to watch this weekend is how the Midshipmen attempt to modernize.
That should not impact the outcome Saturday, not with Notre Dame favored by three touchdowns, but in the long run, Navy’s gridiron viability makes some waves in the Irish athletic department.
Noah Eagle will be on the play-by-play for @NDonNBC in Dublin this weekend against Navy.
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) August 23, 2023
Just a one-week fill-in, Jac Collinsworth should be back in the booth against Tennessee State.
This will presumably be the last Notre Dame trip to Ireland for a decade or so, at least. Freeman and his players have said all the right things about striking the appropriate balance between appreciating the opportunity and making the most of the time in Dublin.
“That’s exciting to finally have wheels down here in Ireland,” Freeman said. “... We have to understand we’re here for a reason, to play Navy and win a game. It’s okay to enjoy being in the country of Ireland. I want them to embrace it and enjoy it because I’m going to. We’re excited and we’re ready.
“The build-up has been good, but now it’s time to get ready for the game on Saturday.”
Notre Dame All-American left tackle Joe Alt joined Corey Robinson to preview Saturday's tilt with Navy and the trip to Ireland.
— Notre Dame on NBC (@NDonNBC) August 24, 2023
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