Kirk Herbstreit: Sam Hartman has brought new 'energy and belief' to Notre Dame

Kirk Herbstreit believes the addition of quarterback Sam Hartman has been invaluable to Notre Dame’s success in 2023.

The former Wake Forest Demon Deacons starting quarterback took his talents to South Bend over the offseason, and it’s looking like a match made in heaven. The Fighting Irish are undefeated, and their offense hasn’t looked this good in a long, long time.

The hype is real at the moment, but it’s up to Marcus Freeman’s squad to ensure it doesn’t dissipate as their biggest test of the season comes to town in Week 4, the Ohio State Buckeyes. As ESPN’s College GameDay is on the scene, Herbstreit explained why he’s excited to see what Hartman can do against the Buckeyes.

“I think that they’re able to run the football (to) set up their pass. I think you’ve got a veteran quarterback in Sam Hartman, which allows him to be accurate downfield. It’s been a long time since Notre Dame’s had a quarterback that can do that,” Herbstreit said. “That’s another aspect of his game that I think people sometimes underestimate, his ability to get around some traffic in front of him and keep his eyes focused downfield. I think when you have a quarterback that’s playing the way he is, it impacts the entire team, and creates a lot of belief and confidence. I think that’s where Notre Dame is right now.

“I’d ask you, name a Notre Dame quarterback that last brought this kind of energy and belief to this Notre Dame team. It’s been a long time, and I think Hartman, we knew coming over from Wake, running that system that he ran there for Dave Clawson, coming into Notre Dame. We knew he could be good, but I don’t think anybody expected him to be this good, especially with the accuracy downfield. … If he plays well tonight and they beat Ohio State on this stage, that’ll be a big thing that they’ll be talking about. He’ll be right up there with Caleb Williams, Shedeur Sanders and others. Maybe Drake Maye.”

In his time with Notre Dame, Hartman has passed for 1,061 yards and 13 touchdowns, and has yet to throw an interception. If that continues against Ohio State, the quarterback can go from fan-favorite to Heisman favorite.

It won’t be easy, and Notre Dame may need a little luck to get it done, but the Fighting Irish with Sam Hartman have a chance to etch their name into the College Football Playoff mix with a huge victory on Saturday.