Sam Hartman Is EXACTLY What Notre Dame Needs
I have a question for Notre Dame football fans.
When was the last time you genuinely felt that the Irish had a well-rounded offense? One that could be equally dangerous through both the air and the ground. One that forced a defense to play honestly and not creep up to stop the run or ever-predictable bail-out pass to a tight end. It’s been a while.
In some ways, it’s actually pretty impressive how successful Notre Dame has been the last handful of years while being fairly one-dimensional. The Irish always want to run the ball, but in the passing game, it’s pretty much been passes to the tight ends and not much else that can be relied upon or that can scare a defense on the back end.
I believe this trend is about to end thanks to the skill set of Mr. Sam Hartman. Let’s examine why.
6 Years
Sam Hartman will be entering his 6th year of college football. That is a long time in regular life, in college football, it’s an eternity. With this experience under his belt, Hartman is a grizzled veteran that won’t be overwhelmed in any situation. He’s pretty much seen it all by now.
This kind of presence is exactly what the Irish need right now out of the QB position. A player who can recognize what defenses want to do play-by-play and adapt to it effectively. The Notre Dame offense is in great hands in this regard. I expect calm, decisive, and confident QB play. A rare luxury for Irish fans.
Progressions
One of the things I found most impressive about Hartman’s Blue & Gold game performance was his progressions and reads. He calmly dropped back in the pocket and made his reads effectively. This seems like a fairly basic feature of a competent QB, but for Irish fans, it’s a pretty fancy luxury.
I expect Hartman to effectively scan his options and make the correct decisions with where the ball is going often in 2023. This calming presence and effective delivery should allow the Irish offense to hum down the field with rhythm.
Timing
Every football fan knows and understands how important timing is to an offense. The blocking, the passing routes, delivery of passes. Timing is key to all of this. Who could possibly have a better feel of timing than a signal caller in his 6th year?
Hartman will be able to feel pressure, know how much time he has to throw, where pressure is coming from, when to bailout, when to throw the ball away, etc. This is a skillset that grows over time. Notre Dame will be the beneficiary of Sam’s development over the years and it will be very encouraging to witness.
Touch
Another impressive aspect of Hartman’s Blue & Gold performance was his accuracy, even in extremely poor weather conditions. Sam went 13/16 passing for just under 200 yards and looked very efficient while doing it.
This is another area in which his experience will be invaluable. He knows when he has to throw a bullet. He knows when he needs to put some loft under a ball. He knows when to lead a receiver to a spot where either an Irish player catches the ball or nobody does. This is the kind of QB play Notre Dame fans have been begging for.
The Start Of Something
If everything goes according to plan, Notre Dame should have a very capable and well-rounded offense in 2023. One that forces defenses to worry about the run and the pass covering the entire field. This offense should see a drastic increase in TOP and points scored.
It’s my hope that this foundation can be the turning point for the Notre Dame offense, specifically regarding QB play. Hopefully, whoever the starter is in 2024 can continue with the blueprint that will be laid out this campaign and establish an offense that is truly tough to defend in all ways.
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