Reports: Wake Forest grad transfer Sam Hartman enters portal, and Notre Dame could be the beneficiary
FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — During his record-setting career at Wake Forest, quarterback Sam Hartman made the “Slow Mesh” his signature move at the controls of the widely used RPO offense.
How long it takes Hartman to find a new home as a graduate transfer remains to be seen. According to multiple reports, Hartman entered the transfer portal on Tuesday and Notre Dame is viewed as the leading contender to land the potential game-changer.
Hartman, who will turn 24 in late July, closed out his five-year run as the ACC’s career leader in touchdown passes. He led the Demon Deacons to a 27-17 win over Missouri in the Gasparilla Bowl on Friday night in Tampa.
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That was the second straight bowl win with Hartman at the controls for the Deacons, who trounced Rutgers 38-10 in the Gator Bowl last New Year’s Eve.
Sophomore Tyler Buchner is set to start at quarterback with freshman Steve Angeli as his backup as No. 21 Notre Dame heads into a Dec. 30 Gator Bowl meeting with 19th-ranked South Carolina.
Drew Pyne, who went 8-2 as the starter after Buchner required left (non-throwing) shoulder surgery in mid-September, recently landed at Arizona State after announcing his intention to transfer on Dec. 2.
“We’re looking for the right guy to come in here and make an impact,” Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees said on Dec. 11. “There’s an ecosystem in the quarterback room that we want to keep intact. It has to be the right person, and Jack (Coan) was that.”
Under Rees’ tutelage, Coan went 11-2 as the Irish starter in 2021. The Wisconsin graduate transfer passed for 3,150 yards and 25 touchdowns while throwing seven interceptions and taking 34 sacks.
Hartman, whose 110 career touchdown passes moved him past former Clemson quarterback Tahj Boyd (2011-13), has been a known quantity to the Rees family since his high school days in the Carolinas.
Notre Dame director of scouting Bill Rees, Tommy’s father, was director of player personnel at Wake Forest for two seasons (2015-16). The elder Rees saw potential early on in Hartman, who committed to Wake Forest on July 7 before his junior season (2016).
Hartman, rated as a three-star prospect in the 2018 recruiting class, enrolled early and was the opening day starter as a freshman that fall. Wake Forest has gone 38-24 in the past five seasons, including an 11-3 mark in 2021 that tied the school record for wins in a season.
Hartman accounted for 50 combined touchdowns in 2021, including 39 through the air. Hartman has rushed for 17 touchdowns in his career.
Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick was asked about the search for an experienced transfer quarterback during a recent appearance on the “GoJo” podcast with former Irish offensive lineman Mike Golic Jr.
“In the college game and the professional game today, it’s all about quarterback play,” Swarbrick said. “And so that’s going to be a big part of what defines next year for us. … We lose some very talented people who contribute a lot to the team, but I think in some facets we should be better.”
Hartman, 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, missed the season opener after undergoing Aug. 8 surgery to address Paget-Schroetter syndrome, a blood-clotting condition also known as “effort thrombosis.” He was medically cleared to return to action in early September and has started every game since.
“Evaluating quarterbacks is an imperfect science,” Tommy Rees said Wednesday as the Irish signed four-star recruit Kenny Minchey from Hendersonville, Tenn. “If somebody figured it out, they’d be making a lot of money out there. You have first-round picks that don’t make it. You have sixth-round picks that do. You have three-stars that become first-round picks. You have five-stars that never play.”
When it comes to leadership and the “it” factor, some have it and some don’t. Hartman’s production and success at Wake Forest would suggest he qualifies.
“You’re always looking for what is the intangible thing that makes a quarterback really go,” Rees said. “ “You can line up 40 guys in shorts and throw the football, and you’ll probably say all 40 of them are good enough. But what separates those guys from the others?
“You look at a guy that loves the game of football. I think that is so critical to that position. … There’s a real work ethic and drive that’s important at that position. When you can care that much and have your work ethic be something that shines through at the quarterback position, that is going to earn the respect of your teammates right away and that is going to drive your leadership position.”
Follow Notre Dame football writer Mike Berardino on Twitter @MikeBerardino.