Sam Hartman Ranked As The 7th Best Returning QB In College Football

ESPN ranked the Top 10 returning quarterbacks in college football, and Notre Dame signal caller Sam Hartman made the list

ESPN released its list of the Top 10 returning quarterbacks in college football for the 2023 season, and Notre Dame signal caller Sam Hartman made the list.

The list was created after votes were counted by 12 different writers for ESPN, and Hartman checked in at No. 7 on the list. He was just one point behind the quarterback that ranked No. 6 on the list. Here's what ESPN had to say about Hartman:

"Some quarterbacks have college careers that go by in a blink of an eye. Not Hartman. His accomplishments and experiences could fill two or three careers, and he's not done yet. The ACC's career touchdown passes leader started games in each of the past four seasons at Wake Forest and left as the most productive passer in team history. He now embarks on a final go-round at Notre Dame and a potential push for the College Football Playoff. Hartman surged in his final two seasons with Wake Forest, piling up 7,929 pass yards and 77 touchdowns, and last fall finally eclipsing 60% completions (63.1). He operated a distinct and productive scheme, recording 21 career games of 300 pass yards or more, and the second-highest passing yards total in ACC history (12,967, behind only the 13,484 of Philip Rivers). His consistency is a hallmark, as he accounted for a touchdown in his final 34 games with Wake Forest.

Hartman has been in big games, including the 2021 ACC championship, and won MVP honors in the Gator and Gasparilla bowls. He also has faced challenges adjacent to football, including anxiety, which he has spoken openly about, and a blood clot that required surgery before the 2022 season. Hartman will enter a brighter spotlight at Notre Dame but has shown he can handle just about anything at the college level. If he can replicate his production this fall, he should get Notre Dame closer to the CFP."

Here is the complete list:

1. Caleb Williams, USC
2. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
3. Drake Maye, North Carolina
4. Bo Nix, Oregon
5. Jordan Travis, Florida State
6. Cameron Rising, Utah
7. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
8. JJ McCarthy, Michigan
9. Jayden Daniels, LSU
10. Jalon Daniels, Kansas

THOUGHTS ON HARTMAN'S RANKING

Having Hartman in the Top 10 is a positive, so my criticism here won't be too harsh, but in my view Hartman should be higher.

To begin, from a career standpoint there's no one on this list that comes close to his total production. Hartman currently ranks 19th all-time in passing yards (12,967) and 18th in passing touchdowns (110). He's one spot ahead of Russell Wilson (NC State, Wisconsin) and four spots ahead of Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota (Oregon) in touchdown passes. He also has 11 more career touchdown passes than Matt Leinart (USC), another Heisman winner.

His production combines with the fact he has won at Wake Forest should put him ahead of Utah's Cameron Rising at the very least. There is debate he should be ahead of Jordan Travis (Florida State) and Bo Nix (Oregon) as well. 

Travis had an outstanding 2022 season and he's in my personal Top 5, but I have Hartman ahead of Travis as the No. 4 returning quarterback. There are two reasons for this. One is that Hartman has been more productive in the last two seasons than was Travis, and he was even more productive than Travis in 2022, which was the Florida State quarterback's best season by far.

Over the last two seasons Hartman has averaged 319.2 yards of total offense per game (2022) and 327.9 yards per game (2021), with Travis averaging 279.3 yards per game (2022) and 207.4 yards per game (2021). There's also the head-to-head, with Hartman winning both matchups against Travis, and he's 3-0 overall against the Seminoles as a starter.

Rising averaged just 269.2 yards of total offense per game in 2022, which was also his best season. 

Hartman accounted for 39 touchdowns (38 passing, 1 rushing) in 2022 and 50 touchdowns (39 passing, 11 rushing) in 2021, while Travis racked up 31 touchdowns (24 passing, 7 rushing) in 2022 and just 22 touchdowns (15 passing, 7 rushing) the last two seasons. Rising accounted for 32 touchdowns (26 passing, 6 rushing) in 2022 and 26 touchdowns (20 passing, 6 rushing) in 2021.

Hartman is also about to play season with the best supporting cast he's ever had, especially on defense. 

Nix had an outstanding 2022 campaign, accounting for 43 touchdowns (29 passing, 14 rushing) and 315.6 yards of total offense per game. His numbers compare favorably to Hartman, but Hartman's 2021 campaign was statistically better. But if you look at their career's it's not even close. Nix accounted for 57 touchdowns from 2019-21 (39 passing, 18 rushing) while Hartman had 50 touchdowns (39 passing, 11 rushing) in 2021 alone.

I could make a statistical argument for Hartman over Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), but Penix was outstanding last season and he will have a loaded group of skill players around him in 2023. I'm comfortable with Penix being ahead of Hartman at this point.

THOUGHTS ON THE LIST AS A WHOLE

USC quarterback Caleb Williams being on top of this list is a no brainer, and I have no issue with Drake Maye (North Carolina) and Penix being the next two quarterbacks, although I would have Maye No. 2 and Penix No. 3. 

Penix had slightly more yards per game than Maye (364.1 to 358.5), while Maye had more touchdowns (45 to 35). Penix will have a better supporting cast in 2023, but Maye also should be in position to make a bigger leap to his added experience in 2022. Penix had been a starter in the past, while Maye was a first year starter. So in a close statistical matchup I'd go with Maye for this season, plus he's got more physical tools, even with Penix having the expected better supporting cast.

I made my case for Hartman ahead of Travis and Nix, but those two players had outstanding 2022 campaigns and having them ranked at No. 4 and No. 5 is certainly reasonable. It's splitting hairs a bit in the debate with Hartman. Hartman should without question be ahead of Rising, and having the Utah QB at No. 6 is the one major mistake that I see with this list. This is especially true considering Rising tore his ACL in the bowl game loss to Penn State. 

I would also have LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels ahead of Rising and Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy. 

It's hard for me to embrace having Jalon Daniels in the Top 10 at this point. Daniels was electric in his limited starts last season, including his 544-yard passing game against Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl. But Daniels didn't play the entire season, which means he has never started an entire season after he was primarily a backup in 2021. 

I'd give players like KJ Jefferson (Arkansas), Spencer Sanders (Ole Miss), Devin Leary (Kentucky), Riley Leonard (Duke) and Frank Harris (UTSA) a much stronger looks in the Top 10.

IB TOP 10

Here would be my Top 10 list for 2023:

1. Caleb Williams, USC
2. Drake Maye, North Carolina
3. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
4. Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
5. Jordan Travis, Florida State
6. Bo Nix, Oregon
7. Jayden Daniels, LSU
8. KJ Jefferson, Arkansas
9. Riley Leonard, Duke
10. Frank Harris, UTSA

If Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke gets back to his 2021 form he'll be an easy Top 10 player at this position.

NOTE: I'll do an updated list prior to the start of the 2023 season after I study more film.

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