Anonymous opposing coach thinks Notre Dame is 'asking a lot' of Sam Hartman

Notre Dame went from starting Tyler Buchner to starting Drew Pyne at quarterback last year after Buchner suffered an injury. The result for Tommy Rees’ offense was the No. 41-ranked scoring offense and No. 98-ranked passing unit in the country, and the Fighting Irish went big-game hunting in the transfer portal to land Sam Hartman.

Hartman — the former Wake Forest quarterback and ACC’s all-time passing touchdowns leader — came in as the No. 2-ranked transfer to hit the portal this cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. Last season, he threw for 3,701 yards and 38 touchdowns with A.T. Perry as his top target. Terry, of course, ended up a sixth-round pick in the NFL Draft after a 1,096-yard, 11-touchdown season.

Notre Dame, for comparison, hasn’t had a 1,000-yard receiver since Chase Claypool in 2019. That lack of major production at receiver, coupled with a different system under new offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, is why one anonymous opposing coach told Athlon Sports they think Notre Dame might want Hartman to do more than he did at Wake Forest.

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“(Sam) Hartman is a great QB, and he’s capable of the job, but he’ll be under an extreme amount of pressure to produce and carry these guys right away,” the coach said. “ND won’t run those Wake RPOs, though, and they don’t have proven targets for him, either. You’re asking a lot of this kid.”

“The difference between 8-4 and 10-2 last year was two bad losses (Marshall and Stanford), which you want to chalk up to first-year problems. I think everyone at the school is invited in Marcus (Freeman), so long as that’s behind them.”

Notre Dame also saw its top target leave for the NFL with tight end Michael Mayer heading to the Las Vegas Raiders. Mayer finished with 809 receiving yards and nine touchdowns to lead the Fighting Irish in both categories.

As the Fighting Irish wait for playmakers to step up, in addition to a new offensive coordinator in Parker taking over for Rees, all eyes are on how Hartman can help transform the offense. He came in at No. 52 in On3’s Top 100 Players in College Football and put together a strong showing in the spring game. That day, he completed 13 of 16 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns while also running in a touchdown of his own.

As for who can step up at wide receiver, Notre Dame has options. It’s a matter of which one rises to the occasion, according to On3’s J.D. PicKell.

“There has to be somebody that steps up in a big way if Notre Dame wants to be in the College Football Playoff conversation,” PicKell said on The Hard Count earlier this month. “Whether it’s [Deion] Colzie, whether it’s Chris Tyree … Whether it’s [Tobias] Merriweather, like whoever it is, there’s got to be somebody that steps up in a big way and just is the alpha at wide receiver. Because then you can’t just key on the run game.

“Then Sam Hartman has somebody to drop bombs to deep, life is good and South Bend if that’s the way you’re living.”