Marcus Freeman names four 2023 Notre Dame football team captains
For the first time since 2020, one of Notre Dame’s team captains is a quarterback. Head coach Marcus Freeman named Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman one of four Fighting Irish captains for the 2023 season on Sunday. Hartman is joined by graduate student linebacker JD Bertrand, graduate student cornerback Cam Hart and junior left tackle Joe Alt.
Freeman said Saturday all he was waiting on to name the captains was a final tally of the votes cast by players. The count confirmed what most already suspected; Hartman didn’t need much time to win the Notre Dame locker room.
“I mean, it’s all you want,” sophomore wide receiver Tobias Merriweather said of playing with Hartman. “It’s what you come to Notre Dame for. It’s what you play college football for. Sam is one of the best quarterbacks who ever stepped foot on a college football field. So, just having that guy throwing the ball every day, you know if we’re great, he’s going to be great. And if he’s great, we’re going to be great.”
Ian Book, the program’s all-time leader in wins by a quarterback, was the last QB to wear the “C” on his chest when he led the Irish to the College Football Playoff three years ago. Wisconsin graduate transfer Jack Coan did not receive the honor in 2021, and neither Tyler Buchner nor Drew Pyne was bestowed with the honor last year.
It just goes to show: Hartman is different.
More on the 2023 Notre Dame team captain selections
• What the 2023 team captain choices mean for Notre Dame football
The Atlantic Coast Conference’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with 110, Hartman has started 45 games in his illustrious career. His mere presence, that of an alpha male through and through, was enough to force Buchner to transfer to Alabama. Pyne left before it was known Hartman would spend his final year of eligibility in South Bend.
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Bertrand is the only returning team captain of the six Notre Dame had in 2022. Bertrand has started 25 of his 40 career appearances, and he has led Notre Dame in total tackles in each of the last two seasons. He has 190 in his career. Bertrand has been the heart and soul of the middle of the Notre Dame defense for going on three years now.
Hart has started 20 of the 36 games he has appeared in since arriving in the same freshman class as Bertrand in 2019. He’s been oft-injured in his career, including missing some time recently in fall camp, but when he’s been healthy enough to play he’s been a solid contributor on the back end for the Fighting Irish.
Alt is just a junior, but he’s probably the best overall player on the 2023 Fighting Irish roster. He’s been deemed by many esteemed outlets such as Pro Football Focus to be the best offensive tackle eligible for the 2024 draft. He has started 21 of the 26 games he has played in a blue and gold uniform. This could very well be Alt’s last season at the college level. If he has the type of season everyone expects him to have, he’ll be a top 10 pick in next year’s draft.
The four Notre Dame captains are the fewest the program has had since matching that number in 2018. The Irish had six last year, seven in 2021, five in 2020 and seven in 2019.
