Sam Hartman is currently 24 years old. He was born on July 29, 1999. After Hartman declares for the 2024 NFL Draft, he will be a 25-year-old rookie at the start of his first NFL season.
Hartman quickly garnered a reputation as the “elder statesman” within Notre Dame’s locker room upon transferring from Wake Forest. But his experience isn’t something that materialized out of thin air.
Hartman has been taking starting QB reps in some capacity since the 2018 season. He earned the starting job as a true freshman and threw for almost 2,000 yards, 16 touchdowns, and eight interceptions before a leg injury ended his season.
It would take two years for Hartman to return to the full-time starting role for the Demon Deacons. But once he did, he didn’t look back. In 2021, Hartman threw for 4,228 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. In 2022, he added 3,701 yards and 38 touchdowns and earned the Brian Piccolo Award — given to the “most courageous player” in the ACC.
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Courage, and resilience, have been big parts of Hartman’s journey to this point. Not only did Hartman work back from a major injury as an underclassman in 2019, but he also dealt with a blood clot issue ahead of the 2022 season and underwent surgery as a result.
Adversity has only ever delayed Hartman, and never stopped him. As of this writing, Hartman is fifth all-time in collegiate passing yards, and seventh all-time in collegiate passing touchdowns. He needs four more passing TDs to crack the top five and seven more to crack the top three.
