Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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20 JUNE/JULY 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA S o much for that offseason quar- terback competition. Notre Dame knows who's go- ing to start at the most impor- tant position on the field against Navy in August. It's the one quarterback on the roster who has attempted as much as a single pass at the college level. Sam Hartman, a graduate transfer from Wake Forest, has attempted 1,597. He always had the upper hand in his battle against incumbent junior Tyler Buchner, who has only attempted 118. Buchner made it easy on the Notre Dame coaching staff to decide on a starter by taking the easy way out. He's off to Alabama via the transfer portal to reunite with former Notre Dame of- fensive coordinator Tommy Rees just a couple months after the two parted ways. Officially, the 2023 Fighting Irish of- fense belongs to Hartman. "You're a new guy on the block, and these guys took me in," Hartman said in a Blue-Gold Game on-field inter- view. "We try to work as much as we can in practice. A lot of it will come in the summer." Fittingly, the Buchner transfer was preceded by Hartman staking claim to the QB1 title in the Blue-Gold Game April 22. Hartman completed 13 of 16 passes for 189 yards with 2 touchdowns plus a rushing score in less than a half of work. Buchner went 8-of-18 passing for 44 yards with an interception before he was finally pulled in the third quarter. Hartman demanded respect with his mere presence on and off the field. Buchner looked as directionless as he ever has in a Notre Dame uniform, and that's a stint that included a 2-inter- ception outing in a shocking home loss to Marshall. From the looks of it, Hartman is going to give the Notre Dame offense the shot in the arm head coach Marcus Freeman was looking for when he perused the transfer portal and came out of it with Hartman in January. FIGURING IT OUT The 2023 Notre Dame offense comes into focus with the conclusion of spring practices Graduate student Sam Hartman is clearly Notre Dame's No. 1 quarterback after his stellar play in the Blue-Gold Game and the departure of incumbent junior Tyler Buchner to Alabama via the transfer portal. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER