Notre Dame's Sam Hartman Delays Celebrating Win to Check On Injured Duke QB Riley Leonard

The Fighting Irish signal-caller displayed All-American sportsmanship Saturday evening.
Notre Dame's Sam Hartman Delays Celebrating Win to Check On Injured Duke QB Riley Leonard
Notre Dame's Sam Hartman Delays Celebrating Win to Check On Injured Duke QB Riley Leonard /

No. 11 Notre Dame's 21-14 win over No. 17 Duke Saturday evening was college football at its finest — two physical, hard-working teams punching each other in the mouth all night long until a winner emerged.

However, Fighting Irish quarterback Sam Hartman's postgame behavior made the game even more special.

It started in tragedy, as dynamic Blue Devils quarterback Riley Leonard appeared to injure his ankle on Duke's final scrimmage play. He was taken to the Blue Devils' medical tent as grateful fans chanted "Riley Leonard."

Hartman, meanwhile, was shepherded to a postgame interview with ABC. After breaking down his clutch play for sideline reporter Holly Rowe, Hartman stated he intended to check on Leonard.

Which he did.

Not only, in fact, did Hartman make a point to see how the Duke star was doing — he delayed celebrating a crucial win with teammates to do so.

The next time someone you know despairs about the rapacious, dollar-chasing nature of college football, show them this.


Published
Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .