Sam Hartman Ranked Among The Nation's Top 2023 Quarterbacks

Sam Hartman was ranked as the nation's 7th best quarterback heading into the 2023 season

Pro Football Focus released a list of Top 10 players at each position for the 2023 season, and Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman found himself on their list. Hartman checked in as the nation's No. 7 quarterback heading into the summer.

"Hartman was the biggest prize of the transfer portal this offseason, eventually deciding on Notre Dame. The former Wake Forest signal-caller is the most valuable Power Five player over the past two seasons, according to PFF’s wins above average metric. The redshirt junior’s 92.5 grade in that span trails only Bryce Young among Power Five quarterbacks. The Demon Deacons’ slow-mesh system definitely aided him, but Hartman should still be the best quarterback the Fighting Irish have had in the PFF College era." - Max Chadwick, PFF

Chadwick's take on how much Wake Forest's slow mesh offense aided Hartman was certainly an interesting analysis. Wake Forest playing with tempo and being a pass-oriented offense certainly helped pump up Hartman's numbers, but when you look at the film a strong case could be made that the slow-mesh offense created as many issues for Hartman as it created benefits.

Wake Forest ranked 107th in sacks allowed last season, and that isn't all about the Deacon offensive line having some struggles. Wake Forest ranked 107th in sacks allowed in 2021, 101st in 2020 and 102nd in 2018. The only time the Deacons didn't finish lower than 100th in sacks allowed was 2019, when it ranked 44th. That had a lot to do with the running ability of quarterback Jamie Newman.

The slow mesh wasn't just about pace, and allowing routes to develop, and forcing defenses to be patient as they waited for the offense to declare run vs. pass. It required quarterbacks to hold onto the ball longer, which allowed the pass rush more time to get into the backfield, but it also forced the quarterback to step closer and closer to the line. This resulted in Hartman getting hit at a far greater rate than he should have, and it also resulted in him developing some mechanic issues that created some inaccuracy throwing the short and intermediate throws.

According to Pro Football Focus, Wake Forest allowed its quarterbacks to get hit 47 times (24 sacks, 23 hits). That's an average of one hit or sack on every 11 drop backs. The Wake quarterbacks were pressured (hit, sack, hurry) once every 3.8 drop backs.

Notre Dame's talented offensive line won't be the only reason that Hartman gets hit at a much lower rate in 2023. The system employed, which will allow Hartman to consistently be further away from the pass rushers, will also help.

I don't like making too much of spring games, but it's not a surprise that Hartman completed 81.3% of his passes in the Blue-Gold Game. His highest completion rate in a 2022 game was 69.8%, which came against Syracuse.

We'll see if Hartman is able to finish the 2023 season higher in the quarterback rankings, but a strong case could be made he should be higher than 7th. His production far surpasses that of No. 6 quarterback Jayden Daniels, and Hartman is 2-0 in head-to-head matchups against the No. 3 quarterback, Florida State's Jordan Travis. 

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