Notre Dame Season Preview: The Sam Hartman Era Is Set To Begin

Notre Dame kicks off fall camp this week and we'll get our first glimpse of Sam Hartman as the leader of the Irish offense

Notre Dame will have a much different look at quarterback this season, both on the field and in the coaching booth. Both quarterbacks that started games last season are gone (Tyler Buchner, Drew Pyne), as is the position coach (Tommy Rees). The big offseason story is the arrival of Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman, but the arrival of position coach Gino Guidugli is very intriguing as well, at the very least from the standpoint the quarterbacks will have a position coach that only coaches that position for the first time since 2019.

There is also a new talented freshman on campus (Kenny Minchey), and Steve Angeli - who has never thrown a pass in his career - is the only returner.

Expectations are high for the position this season in spite of all the turnover, and there is no question how well the quarterbacks perform this season will have a major impact on how good the Irish offense will be, and whether or not Notre Dame can be a championship football team.

2023 ROSTER

Hartman is the only Notre Dame quarterback to attempt a pass as a college quarterback. He enters the season with 944 career completions, 1,597 career pass attempts, 12,967 career passing yards, 110 career passing touchdowns, 41 career interceptions, 856 career rushing yards and 17 career rushing touchdowns.

Hartman currently ranks 19th in college football history in passing yards and 18th in passing touchdowns. 

WHO IS SAM HARTMAN

There has been plenty of debate about who Sam Hartman really is as a quarterback, and I've been through it myself. For a long time I felt Hartman was more of a product of a unique, pass heavy system, and that he was surrounded by some really talented pass catchers. The stats are great, but it was more about the system.

The film tells a different story, and it wasn't until I dove deeper into the film that I became more of a believer in Hartman's talent being the driving force behind his production at Wake Forest. 

We should get our answer this season when Hartman puts on a Notre Dame uniform. Will he continue to be the big time deep ball thrower that plays with guts? Will he be able to adjust to the football and schematic changes that Notre Dame will ask him to make? Can he limit on some of the bad turnovers he had at Wake Forest, or the big turnover games (five career games with 3+ interceptions) we saw from him?

Hartman won't have to carry the team the way he did at Wake Forest for a number of reasons. This should be the best offensive line, running back depth chart and run game he's ever played with. Notre Dame's defense will also be significantly better than any he had at Wake Forest. The Irish wideouts aren't proven, but it's every bit as talented as the group he had with the Deacons, if not better.

This should take some of the burden off of Hartman's shoulders, and is hopefully a factor in him limiting some of the big turnovers. That is the hope anyway, and that he'll play cleaner football but not lose any of his aggressiveness. 

If Hartman can be the same player he was at Wake Forest, but with a bit cleaner pocket footwork and also limit turnovers a bit, he'll be everything Notre Dame fans hope he will be this season. If Notre Dame gets the Wake Forest version of Hartman this offense will be outstanding, but if it gets that cleaner version of Hartman Notre Dame will be incredibly hard to beat when he's on the field in 2023.

BIG SEASON FOR ANGELI

This is a very interesting season for sophomore Steve Angeli. He's still young, but this is a bit of a crossroads season for him. That is a bit unfair to say, but it's the reality due to the arrival of Minchey now and CJ Carr in 2024. If Angeli doesn't take a big jump this season he'll run the risk of getting passed up pretty quickly.

Angeli is an intriguing player for many reasons. He didn't produce much in high school due to the shortened Covid season in 2020, and he passed for just 1,717 yards as a senior in 2021. The Bergen Catholic alum didn't throw a pass for the Irish in his freshman season (2022). 

Despite his lack of experience playing quarterback, Angeli also shows a lot of maturity, leadership and the calm demeanor you want in a quarterback. He has good arm strength and he's a decent athlete, so he has tools to build on. The question is will he develop the necessary decision making ability, ball placement and playmaking ability to lead the Irish offense. 

He'll need to start to show those skills quickly if he's going to hold off Minchey this season, and Carr next season. If he does, Angeli gives the Irish a very inexperienced, but savvy young quarterback that likely won't get overwhelmed by the moment if his number is called.

MINCHEY MUST GROW UP QUICK

Freshman Kenny Minchey should get a lot more work in fall camp than he did in the spring due to the departure of Buchner. The rookie quarterback didn't show much during the Blue-Gold Game, but sources indicated he was a standout in the big "Jersey Scrimmage" the Irish had. 

Minchey has some gunslinger to his game, and he was recognized as one of the smartest quarterbacks in the 2023 class. He gained valuable experience in the spring, and entering fall camp he now has a chance to battle Angeli for the backup quarterback job. 

The key for Minchey will be not only getting more comfortable with the system, but also being more assertive. At times during open practices, and in the Blue-Gold Game, Minchey aimed the ball a bit too much. You could tell he wasn't always sure of what he was seeing and where he should go with the ball. The faster he works past that the better he'll be, and better the odds he challenge Angeli.

This battle between Angeli and Minchey is going to be important for a couple of reasons. The first is most obvious, the winner becomes the backup quarterback and will be thrust into the starting lineup should Hartman get injured. The second is that the winner of the backup QB battle this season enters next spring as the leader in the clubhouse to win the starting job once Hartman's career is over.

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2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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