Buyer Beware: Sam Hartman, QB, Notre Dame

First Round Mock’s William Yanish is not sold on new Notre Dame quarterback (QB) Sam Hartman.

The QB position has taken a huge turn of late and everyone is after the next Patrick Mahomes.

You know who that is, don’t you? The thing is, there is only one.

It’s like former NFL QB Joe Montana. No matter how hard this league tried, there was never another like him. A copy of a copy just isn’t quite as sharp as the original.

Now with league general managers overlooking factors like mechanics and footwork, things are getting a little sketchy. Those two attributes control accuracy and throwing power like none other. Outside of the top few QBs in this next draft, the best of the best, things get questionable.

Background

Hartman is a 6-foot-1, 210-pound transfer to Notre Dame from Wake Forest.

When it comes to transfers – – they can do one of two things. Transferring shows the prospect was with the wrong team at the wrong time and why it was a great idea to move to another school. Otherwise, the opposite will be true.

Hartman is the perfect candidate to show fans why he should have stayed at Wake Forest.

Last season, his team took No. 5 ranked Clemson to the wire, losing 51-44 in double overtime. A few weeks later, as the No. 10 team in the country, Hartman’s Demon Deacons were annihilated by Louisville 48-21. Hartman looked like a deer in headlights staring down the Cardinals’ pass rush while taking seven sacks and throwing multiple pick-six interceptions.

To finish the regular season, Wake Forest lost four of its remaining five games with him throwing eight picks over that span.

I usually don’t include a lot of stats with my evaluations, but I’m trying to make a point here. Hartman can get on a roll, or it can go south. His deep passes as a whole are a complete crapshoot. The result is usually bad. Additionally, the number of passes defenders get their hands on is off-the-charts. Over the 2021/2022 seasons, he was responsible for 26 interceptions.

The Yanish Report

Decent arm strength. Short to immediate route accuracy and ball placement is serviceable. Consistently under throws or misses on deep balls. Erratic. Poor arm and upper body mechanics. Footwork isn’t much better. Off-platform throws are just the same. Plagued by drops. Mobile, but not overly fast. Gets rattled staring down the barrel of the pass rush. Progressions are slow and choppy. Doesn’t show a great vision of the field. Checks down to running back a lot. Throws a ton of picks. Hasn’t shown all that much improvement year-to-year. Willing blocker on run-pass option (RPO) formations. Play action and RPOs need work.

For the win

Watching Notre Dame’s spring game, he still looked like he had not gotten Wake Forest’s funky slow mesh play-action, and RPO style out of his head. That’s where Hartman decides to run or pass and he keeps the ball in the running back’s gut until the last second. That shows he isn’t a quick learner. Additionally, that demonstrates the little evolution that he has displayed in the last few years.

I do not believe that Hartman will ever be more than a backup QB at the next level without a ton of improvement. His lack of consistency and careless throws factor into my projection.

I don’t think he will show much progress after his transfer to Notre Dame either.

Every dynamic of this evaluation showed Hartman was average or mediocre.

Can he be a player in the NFL?

I think that he can be in a backup role. It just depends on how hard he wants to work.

My BIG three questions

1. Is there any possible way for him to improve his greatest weaknesses?

2. Will the new system at Notre Dame get him to show any improvement?

3. Can he show an improvement in his draft stock, or will he become an afterthought in the discussion?

How Hartman stacks up and game film reviewed

My 2024 NFL Draft Value: Fifth-Round

Game Film Evidence

Florida State ‘21

North Carolina ‘21

Pittsburgh ‘21 ACC Championship

Clemson ‘22

Florida State ‘22

Boston College ‘22

Notre Dame Spring Game ‘23

William Yanish III is a lifelong football fan. He’s from the little town of Crawford, Colorado. Along the way, he’s lived in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and Brookings, Oregon. Quarterback Joe Montana was his idol growing up. A little bit of CTE from life’s adventures killed his dreams as a football player. Now, he is an aspiring writer and Draft Analyst at FirstRoundMock.com. He’s a fanatic with a dream, which is coming true.