Notre Dame Football: Sam Hartman shows off his gun in Senior Bowl prep

The impact of Sam Hartman on the Notre Dame football team in 2023 is one that is likely going to get a ton of debate for quite a while. There was a time when he was considered the best transfer quarterback in the class. But his final numbers in 2023 felt short of what Fighting Irish fans were hoping for when the season began.

Earlier this week, Hartman was prepping for the upcoming Senior Bowl and he was showing off some of the skills that made him such a sought-after quarterback when he announced he was leaving Wake Forest.

In one particular play, an Atlanta Falcons beat reporter caught a video of him throwing an absolute bomb at Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson. 

Starting from around his own 30, he was able to lay a perfect pass to Wilson, who had blown past the coverage and hit him in stride right around the opposing 30-yard line. Had the play been in a live game, it would have been about a 70-yard touchdown strike.

On its own, in practice, it was just a really nice display of both touch and arm strength for the much-maligned quarterback.

Notre Dame football player shows what he can do in Senior Bowl practice

It’s obviously hard to know how a player performs against his peers based on one video in practice. However, one thing is clear and that’s Hartman has a big enough arm and an accurate enough arm that he can put up big numbers.

While his long-term prognosis might be as a backup quarterback, those guys can have nice long NFL careers if they get on the right team. Sometimes, those guys can also turn those career backup positions into starting jobs.

It’s worth pointing out that Sam Hartman’s numbers with the Notre Dame football program were not remotely “bad.” He finished with nearly 2,700 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just 8 interceptions. He also completed 63.5 percent of his passes. 

Most teams' fans would take those kinds of numbers in a heartbeat.