Sam Hartman addresses Tommy Rees’ departure after offseason transfer to Notre Dame

Sam Hartman hit the transfer portal this offseason after a decorated career for Wake Forest. As a grad transfer, Hartman landed on a move to Notre Dame where he was expected to team up with OC Tommy Rees.

That, of course, changed once Rees left the program to take over as the OC for Nick Saban at Alabama. Since then, Marcus Freeman conducted a search for a new OC before promoting Gerad Parker from within.

Wednesday evening, Hartman met with the media for the first time since Rees’ departure. The quarterback was composed in his comments, simply saying the move “is what it is” at this point.

“We kept moving forward and we’ve been moving forward since,” said Hartman. “Everything is full-steam ahead.”

Outlook for Notre Dame’s QB battle

While Hartman comes to Notre Dame with nearly 13,000 passing yards and 127 total touchdowns in his career, no one is going to just hand him the QB1 job with the Irish. Tyler Buchner began the 2022 season as Notre Dame’s starting QB before a shoulder injury knocked him out for the majority of the regular season.

In 3 games, Buchner threw for 651 yards, 3 touchdowns and 5 interceptions while adding 4 rushing touchdowns. He produced 5 total touchdowns in a Gator Bowl win over South Carolina.

Hartman still stands as the likely frontrunner for Notre Dame’s QB1 role this season, but it certainly a position to watch throughout the spring.