Marcus Freeman shares impressions of Sam Hartman's fast spring game start

Saturday’s spring game is a chance for both Sam Hartman and Tyler Buchner to make an impression amid the ongoing quarterback battle at Notre Dame. Early on, Hartman looked the part.

Hartman completed his first five passes for 91 yards, threw a touchdown pass and ran one in, as well. It was quite a start for the Wake Forest transfer and the No. 2-ranked player to hit the portal this cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman spoke highly of Hartman’s early performance, as well.

“Just the ability to keep the ball in play, keep it off the ground and be efficient in your decision making,” Freeman said. “I know one of the incompletions was on the RPO, but I still like the decisions that he’s making. They’ve been really efficient and that’s really good to see.”

Hartman has also looked comfortable in the huddle, as Peacock color analyst and former Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph pointed out. Freeman said that’s a result of Hartman growing with the new-look offense, which is now being called by Gerad Parker after Tommy Rees departed for Alabama. That’s why Freeman said that comfort will only get better.

“I think it’s grown, just as the progression with the offense has grown,” Freeman said. “It’s a learning curve coming from a completely different system to what we’re doing here at Notre Dame. You’ve seen him continuously get more and more comfortable and really improve.”

Marcus Freeman has seen ‘constant improvement’ from Sam Hartman, Tyler Buchner this spring

After Freeman’s interview, Hartman threw another touchdown to make it a 21-0 lead for the Gold team. He continued to make a strong first impression in South Bend, completing 13 of his first 16 passes for 189 yards, two touchdowns and a rushing touchdown. Buchner had a shakier start, going 6 for 12 for 40 yards to start the game.

Of course, Hartman probably won’t play the whole game. Freeman told Peacock’s Caroline Pineda the plan is for him and Buchner to play the first half Saturday as spring practice comes to an end. Still, the competition has been healthy.

“Constant improvement,” Freeman said of what he’s seen from the quarterbacks. “Those two are ultimate competitors and they’ve made each other better, and that’s been great to see. The progression of those two through 14 practices … it’s going to be exciting to see. They’re probably only going to play the first half, but it’s going to be exciting to see in this environment.”