Former Notre Dame football star QB Sam Hartman lands on NFL team

Former Notre Dame football and Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman signed with the Washington Commanders as an undrafted free agent following the 2024 NFL Draft. The former Fighting Irish quarterback signed a relatively lucrative contract that features a $20,000 dollar signing bonus and a $225,000 base salary.

Hartman played for Wake Forest for five seasons (2018-2022) and then finished his collegiate career in South Bend last season (2023), respectively. While at Wake Forest, Hartman became the all-time leader in touchdown passes in ACC history (110). Additionally, Hartman finished second all-time in total passing yardage in the ACC (12,967), which is only behind former NC State and NFL quarterback Philip Rivers (13,484).

After having garnered an overall record of 27-18 as a starter at Wake Forest, Hartman decided to take his talents to Notre Dame, where the consensus was that the Fighting Irish was a quarterback away from reaching championship status. Prior to Hartman arriving, Notre Dame had an underwhelming 2022 campaign to say the least. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman was in his inaugural season at the helm after having served as an effective defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish in 2021.

In 2022, Notre Dame trotted out Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner as its pass-throwers and neither one could help the Irish reach the immense expectations that was placed upon them. Fortunately, Hartman had substantial experience as a starter and the Irish had a stout defense, which placed even more expectations on the 2023 Notre Dame team.

Hartman tossed for 2,689 yards, 24 touchdowns while having completed 63.5 percent of his passes, respectively. The Irish finished the regular season 9-3 after having suffered crushing defeats to Ohio State, Louisville, and Clemson. Hartman struggled throughout the season which included a three-interception performance against the Cardinals in a 33-20 loss. The six-year collegiate quarterback had issues with decision-making and frequently overthrew the ball to pass-catchers.

The 24-year old quarterback will now join Marcus Mariota, Jeff Driskel, and Jake Fromm as backups to 2023 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels.