Sam Hartman Is Focused On Learning The Notre Dame Offense, Bonding With Tyler Buchner

There is not much Sam Hartman has not encountered as he goes through spring practice with the Notre Dame football team. Sure, South Bend winters and the late-thawing spring are new to the North Carolina native, but the former early enrollee at Wake Forest turned Irish graduate student is now going through his sixth spring.

Trying to find a new twist or turn for Hartman is challenging. Heck, when he threw passes to former Irish tight end Michael Mayer at Notre Dame’s March 24 Pro Day it seemed like that could be something Hartman hadn’t done in his first five years in college, but even that was old hat for the soon to be 24-year-old quarterback.

“It’s my second one,” Hartman said of that Pro Day experience. “It was fun to get out and throw the ball to a Notre Dame legend or whatever you want to call it, so it was good. Mike, when we talked, it felt like we had played together before, but we never knew each other before that. So, it was good.”

That day was all about Mayer for Hartman. He didn’t seek feedback from any of the NFL personnel in attendance to scout Mayer and other former Fighting Irish players as they aim their sites on this month’s NFL Draft. It was all about a newcomer trying to help someone he never even played with.

“I was really focused on just giving him his shine and his time to (show) what he deserved and what he earned from playing so well here,” Hartman conveyed. “So, I was just trying to get him the ball in good spots and good locations.”

Hartman’s current focus is on learning a new offense. For all the experience he gained in his 48 career games and 1,597 passing attempts at Wake Forest, he has never played in a pro-style offense. It’s one of the reasons Hartman opted to join the Irish for his sixth year.

He left the Demon Deacons’ slow mesh offense behind to give himself a better chance at hearing his name called when the 2024 NFL Draft rolls around.

“I think we're still on the ground levels for me,” Hartman explained. “My knowledge of the offense, I'm looking forward to growing it as practice goes on. I feel like I learn something or gain something every practice, every rep, really.

“It's complex in the way that we're designing it, but simple in the way that we need to read and work through it,” Hartman continued. “So, it kind of gives you a fighting chance against Coach (Al) Golden and his array of defenses that you’ve got to go against. So, if you have a general idea of the coverage, you know your read and your reactions, and you just try and roll through it.”

Hartman and incumbent Fighting Irish quarterback Tyler Buchner have become fast friends, despite competing for the same job running the offense. The two knew each other before Hartman’s arrival on campus in January because they both worked with Southern California-based private quarterback coach Taylor Kelly.

That previous relationship helped their current bond grow fast. They are around each other in the quarterback room daily and they hang out on the weekends as well. They even spent some extra time with each other on spring break in So Cal last month when Buchner was home with his family and Hartman was with his girlfriend.

“We were just working together, throwing, going to get food, talking about whatever,” Hartman explained. “But he’s a great dude, great relationship. It's been really cool to kind of have that gel and that continuity in the QB room. Obviously, for me coming in, these guys have accepted me, and it's been great for my growth and development.”

Buchner may not have Hartman’s depth of experience, but he has an athletic ability and arm that even a veteran like Hartman can appreciate.

“I envy it,” Hartman said of Buchner’s skillset. “He's a really great player. You see it every single day, just makes some really cool plays. It comes with the hard work that he puts in.

“We're a little bit different in who we are as people,” Hartman continued. “He's a little bit more laid back. I'm a little bit more fiery — fiery is a weird word — but a little bit more on edge is probably a better word. I think I take some from him and he takes some for me. That's a good kind of dichotomy we have going.”

The two quarterbacks have about three more weeks of spring practice together before the April 22 Blue-Gold game. Then summer workouts, followed by fall training camp and another season that begins on August 26. Nothing new.

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