Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2023 33 of harmless, happy catch with sopho- more cornerback Benjamin Morrison. Offense. Defense. Doesn't matter to Hartman. There are 80-plus scholar- ship players on the Notre Dame roster. Hartman has lent a hand to all of them. He doesn't forget about the walk-ons, either. Hartman hit walk-on tight end Andrew Yanoshak on a toe-tapping corner route in Notre Dame's sixth practice of camp. It was a routine play on air, one Hartman has made hundreds and probably even thou- sands of times when the cameras aren't rolling. But even in his sixth fall camp, Hartman went out of his way to slap fives with Yanoshak. He had to weave in and out of a few other Notre Dame pass catch- ers to get to the tight end. He could have easily just returned to the designated area for quarterbacks to stand during the drill. Actions like that from QB1 do not go unnoticed by teammates. "Sam brings a certain level of matu- rity," Notre Dame walk-on quarterback Dylan Devezin said. "The rest of [the quarterbacks] are underclassmen. He brings experience and leadership that I think is very important." "It's been awesome having Sam," Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Steve An- geli added. "Being able to just ask him any questions that I have, he pretty much has an answer for every single one of my questions. He's played five years going on six years of college football, so he's seen almost everything there. "I'm pretty much attached to his hip every single day and just trying to gain and soak up any knowledge, his routine, just see what makes him so great and just see how he got to this place." Hartman taking Angeli under his wing is invaluable for Notre Dame in the event of an emergency in 2023 and for the long haul in 2024 and beyond. But Angeli's acceptance of Hartman's mentorship — and friendship — is just as important to Hartman's comfort level this fall and, as a result, crucial to Notre Dame's success as a team. The better Hartman feels about being at Notre Dame and the people he's shar- ing this season with, the more likely it is for him to do everything he wants to do from a pure football perspective. So far, so good. Everything is clicking for Hart- man on and off the field with less than three weeks until the season opener in Ireland, and that's just the way the Irish want it. "That's something I can say for the rest of my life, that I've been on this football team and been a part of this university," Hartman said. "It's just been special. Getting on campus for the first time, it felt special. And really being around the guys, it's a different group and I've en- joyed every second of it." ✦ "… The reaction of his teammates told you that he has won the locker room, and he'll be a great leader for this team." NOTRE DAME QUARTERBACKS COACH GINO GUIDUGLI ON HARTMAN Hartman (in the red jersey) has made a concerted effort on and off the field to build relationships with his teammates, regardless of what side of the ball they play on or their stature on the team. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER