Joel Klatt shares excitement for Notre Dame offense

Notre Dame kicks off their 2023 season before anybody else, facing Navy in Dublin. The historic rivalry is being taken abroad but plenty of excitement resides stateside. None more so than when talking about new quarterback Sam Hartman and how he fits in the Fighting Irish’s offense.

Last season was not the ideal quarterback situation for Marcus Freeman. Tyler Buchner went out early with an injury before Drew Pyne stepped in. Neither of those guys is in the program, nor is offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. It’s a fresh start with Hartman leading the way.

FOX’s Joel Klatt believes bringing Hartman in was something Notre Dame “desperately” needed and has a chance to elevate the offense to a completely new level.

“I’m really interested to see what the Notre Dame offense looks like,” Klatt said. “They don’t have Tommy Rees, their offensive coordinator. So this is going to be a wait-and-see. And I can’t wait to see it because this guy, Sam Hartman, can play. Over 100 touchdowns, ACC record holder.

“They need that, desperately. I think they’re going to have a really solid offensive line but those are the things I’m really interested in when it comes to Notre Dame.”

Previous performances from Hartman are why folks in South Bend are high on the quarterback. As Tyler Horka of On3’s Blue and Gold pointed out, Hartman was able to lead Wake Forest to an 11-win season — something that program is not particularly used to.

Notre Dame, on the other hand, is no stranger to 11 wins. If Hartman is able to have the same level of play with the Fighting Irish, they could be a true CFP contender.

“They’ve all been at Wake Forest but you have to remember he led Wake Forest to 11 wins at a place where they just don’t win 11 games a whole lot,” Horka said when joining the On3 Roundtable this summer. “They do it at Notre Dame a whole lot though.

“So when you have the marriage of those two things… I think you got to think they’ll be right there in the conversation to make the College Football Playoff at the end of the year.”

Klatt still wants to let games play out and let Notre Dame have success before having large expectations, though. He can still be excited about the potential under Hartman as everyone will get to watch him in the iconic jersey on Saturday against Navy.