Sam Hartman describes quarterback competition with Tyler Buchner as 'fun'

Although Sam Hartman left Wake Forest as the ACC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes, he wasn’t guaranteed the starting job after transferring to Notre Dame. He’s been competing with Tyler Buchner for the job all spring after Buchner served as the starter last year before suffering a shoulder injury.

Head coach Marcus Freeman said the competition was healthy, and Hartman offered a similar sentiment. He said it’s been “fun” as he and Buchner pushed each other to get better.

“I think he and I just understood it’s a competition, but there’s only one,” Hartman told Peacock’s Carolina Pineda. “And we just understood that hating each other, holding grudges on each other is not going to help. He set the precedent early and I just kind of feed off him.

“We’re a little different and styles are pretty intense. He’s a little more laid back. Both good quarterbacks and it’s just been cool to learn from him. I’ve played a lot of football, so has he. It’s just been fun getting a new best friend on the football field.”

Hartman has also started looking more comfortable in the huddle, as Peacock color analyst and former Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph pointed out. That’s something Freeman said will continue to get better as Hartman settles in to the system.

“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.”

Hartman looked strong with his spring game performance, completing 13 of 16 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns while also running in a touchdown of his own in the first half. He didn’t play in the second half, but Buchner — despite what Freeman said pregame — did. On the whole, he completed 8 of 18 passes for 44 yards.

Of course, Hartman brings much more experience to South Bend as a sixth-year senior. During his time at Wake Forest, he threw for nearly 13,000 yards and 110 touchdowns over five seasons before becoming the No. 2-ranked player to enter the portal this cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. Buchner, meanwhile, only appeared in three games last year after suffering his injury. He looked strong in the Gator Bowl, though, as he threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns to help lead Notre Dame past South Carolina.