Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1509252
6 OCT. 14, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME BY TYLER HORKA N otre Dame quarterback Sam Hart- man threw the second-most pass attempts of any FBS quarterback with- out throwing an interception through Week 5. He had the Fighting Irish ranked No. 10 with a 5-1 record, which was just seconds away from being 6-0. On the field and off the field, he has been a tremendous addition to the Notre Dame roster. Here are six ways Hartman has been of great impact to the Irish through their first six games of 2023. 1. Fourth-And-16 Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker said it best; there aren't many calls for fourth-and-16. Espe- cially when Notre Dame is only playing with three scholarship wide receivers. That was the situation facing the Irish offense, trailing by a point, with less than a minute left at then-No. 17 Duke. Hartman was either going to have to make a play with his arm or make one with his legs. The ball was in his hands no matter what. He went with option No. 2. Duke dropped eight defenders and rushed three, so Hartman had all the time in the world to survey the field. He flushed out to his right, and he knew ex- actly where the line of scrimmage was. When he neared it, there was a slight hesitation to buy a little time and wait until the last possible moment to fire a pass. He didn't see a throwing lane, so he tucked the ball and ran. And ran. And ran. For 17 yards and a first down. One week prior versus then-No. 6 Ohio State, Hartman did not sell out to get a critical first-down conversion on fourth-and-1. On fourth-and-16, he lunged his entire body over the line to gain. Leaders step up when games are on the line. And they learn from their mistakes. "When Sam Hartman is your quar- terback, you have a lot of faith," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said in the postgame press conference. 2. Staying On The Field, Part Two Hartman was the last Notre Dame player on the playing surface after the Fighting Irish's 21-14 victory over Duke. Junior running back Audric Estimé, who scored the game-winning touchdown with half a minute remaining, and grad- uate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III, who forced a game-sealing fumble on the next snap from scrim- mage, had already headed to the Notre Dame locker room. So had everybody else. Even Freeman made his emphatic exit off Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium before Hartman ran over to make his. Why? Hartman was checking in on Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard went down awkwardly on the hit from Cross that jarred the ball loose and was recovered by the Irish. He stayed down on the field for a while and went to the medical tent immediately upon being helped off the field. When he emerged from the tent on crutches, Hartman was there to give him a hug and wish him well. "That kid is a hell of a player," Hart- man said in his postgame press confer- ence. "I obviously don't know what he's going through, but I've been there. Just thinking about him and hope he's all right." 3. Staying On The Field, Part One Hartman's extended stay on the field at Duke wasn't his first of the season. UNDER THE DOME THE ONE AND ONLY Quarterback Sam Hartman has meant the world to Notre Dame football in 2023 Hartman was nearly flawless for the Fighting Irish in the first half of the season, on and off the field. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP