Sam Hartman fourth touchdown ties Notre Dame debut record

Former Wake Forest star Sam Hartman was impressive in his debut for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday afternoon in his team’s 42-3 blowout victory of the Navy Midshipmen. Early in the fourth quarter, he connected on his fourth touchdown pass of the game, tying Jack Coan for the most touchdown passes in a debut game by a Fighting Irish signal-caller.

He looked like the elite signal-caller they hoped he would be after they plucked him out of the transfer portal this offseason from the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Check it out below.

Sam Hartman completes it to Deion Colzie for his fourth touchdown pass of the game. Notre Dame has not punted yet. 42-0 Fighting Irish. #GoIrish

pic.twitter.com/Z2TQIxi6yc

— The College Experience (@TCEonSGPN) August 26, 2023

In the blowout, Hartman completed 19 of his 24 passes for 251 yards, while tossing four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Hartman not only made Notre Dame history on Saturday afternoon, but he also moved up a spot on the NCAA all-time passing yardage list.

As he starts his sixth year of college football thanks to the COVID-19 waiver, Sam Hartman continues to make history. The Notre Dame quarterback now sits 17th on the NCAA’s all-time passing list, jumping past Georgia great Aaron Murray.

Hartman found Jayden Thomas for a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter of Saturday’s game against Navy, giving him 13,167 career passing yards. That moved him past Murray on the NCAA’s list and now has him behind Colt McCoy as he moves up the charts.

Hartman put together a strong first half for Notre Dame in his Fighting Irish debut. He threw for 196 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense, and he picked up right where he left off to start the second half by throwing for 31 yards. That included another touchdown pass to Jaden Greathouse — the second time he and Hartman connected for a score in Ireland.

Expectations are high for Hartman, the ACC’s all-time leading touchdown passer, after his transfer from Wake Forest. He arrived in South Bend as the No. 2-ranked transfer from the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings, and looked to jump-start the Notre Dame offense.

Prior to kickoff against Navy, Marcus Freeman said Hartman met the expectations. In fact, he’s done better than Freeman could have imagined.

“He’s exceeded everything, I’ve thought,” Freeman told Zora Stephenson on the NBC broadcast just prior to kickoff. “He’s been unbelievable leader, unbelievable teammate. I’m really happy for him to go out here and compete today.”

Sam Hartman impressed Joe Montana early on vs. Navy

Hartman’s early performance against Navy also drew some high praise from one of Notre Dame’s all-time greats. Joe Montana was on hand for the game in Ireland and watched as the Fighting Irish established the run game early before letting Hartman, quite simply, be Hartman.

It’s safe to say he liked what he saw, and he knows it’s only up from here.

“I think in the beginning, they kind of got the running game going, then all the sudden they turned him loose,” Montana said. “We were sitting up there going, ‘OK, at some point they’re going to let him go.’ He’s been great so far. It’s been fun to watch.”

Montana also pointed out how important it is for Hartman to have so much experience. Considering Notre Dame had to largely rely on an inexperienced backup in Drew Pyne a year ago, Hartman has the ability to bring a new mentality to the table.

“He’s got a lot of experience, thrown a lot of touchdowns,” Montana said. “I think it’s great for Notre Dame and brings something different to the table for them and gives them a little juice on the offense.”

On3’s Nick Schultz also contributed to this article.