Sam Hartman has chance to 'light it up' vs. NC State after multiple interceptions in past two meetings

Sam Hartman threw for three or more interceptions five times in his 35 games at Wake Forest, and two of them came against NC State. The quarterback transferred to Notre Dame this offseason and will face the Wolfpack again in Week 2, giving him a chance to redeem himself in his final college season.

The NC State defense returns first team All-ACC selection Aydan White as well as Shyheim Battle to form one of the best cornerback tandems in the conference. The pair combined for six interceptions and 14 passes defended this past season as the Wolfpack ranked second in the nation with 1.5 picks forced per game.

Speaking with On3‘s Andy Staples on Monday, Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy expressed excitement to watch Hartman compete against the NC State secondary. He added that his transfer to Notre Dame represents a chance for NFL scouts to see how he performs in a new scheme.

“If I’m Sam Hartman, it’s my chance to go out and light it up and go, ‘That was the Wake Forest offense, That wasn’t me,’” he said. “Whenever anyone talks about Sam Hartman, they always talk about him wanting to transfer and show the NFL scouts what he can do in more of a pro-style offense. …I didn’t know that stat on Sam. That is very unlike Hartman to throw that many picks.

“But yeah, it’s useful to see him in different uniforms with different guys around him. The portal stuff has made the evaluation more difficult in some ways, but in terms of seeing guys play in different schemes and stuff, it’s been really helpful.”

Hartman has so far not thrown an interception in the Fightining Irish’s first two games against Navy and Tennessee State. He has recorded 445 yards and six touchdowns while completing 82.5% of his passes.

Those numbers are extremely impressive, but it will be interesting to see how he performs against tougher competition. So far in three prior games against the Wolfpack, Hartman carries a record of 1-2 while throwing a combined six picks in 2021 and 2022.

“Sam Hartman has done everything he can possibly in these first two games,” Nagy said. “Now it’s back into the ACC. The good thing for him is familiar people. He’ll go out and NC State’s got a couple good corners that are on our board right now. He’s seen those guys. He’s got the book on them. So that’ll be a good one.”

Kickoff between Notre Dame and NC State is set for noon ET on Saturday in Raleigh.

Nagy interested to see NC State QB Brennan Armstrong pass more

In addition to Hartman, Nagy is also eager to see what Wolfpack quarterback Brennan Armstrong can do against the Notre Dame defense. A transfer from Virginia, Armstrong struggled last season with the Cavaliers to finish with just seven touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

In his debut for NC State, Armstrong impressed on the ground to lead the team with 96 yards rushing and two touchdowns. However, Nagy would like to see him air it out more after going 17-of-26 for 155 yards in the opener.

“I watched him last week against (UConn),” Nagy said. “He actually did more with his legs than he did with his arms. He kind of was channeling his inner Tim Tebow the other night against UConn and ran the ball a ton. I want to see him put it up a little bit. We’ve got to dial in on these QBs. It’s such a deep class.”