The Notre Dame Fighting Irish kicked off their 2023 college football season in Ireland against the Navy Midshipman. Highly touted transfer quarterback Sam Hartman made his debut for the Fighting Irish, and did not disappoint, breaking the school record for passing touchdowns for a debuting quarterback.
Hartman came to Notre Dame with a ton of hype, as most saw him as the most complete quarterback to hit the transfer portal this past offseason. He notably broke the ACC record for career passing touchdowns at Wake Forest during his five-year career with the Demon Deacons.
A competent quarterback could make Notre Dame a true contender to watch this season, and they got their year off to a great start on Saturday.
Hartman in particular played excellently, throwing for 251 yards and four touchdowns while completing 19 of 23 passes on the day.
Hartman’s four touchdowns on the day tied the school record for the most of any quarterback making their debut for the program.
His 82.6 completion percentage also ranks 11th in the program’s single-game record list.
Based on this performance, it looks like the sky is the limit for this Notre Dame offense with Hartman at the helm, and fans are extremely eager to see more from him.
Navy isn’t exactly expected to be all that competitive this year, so it will certainly be interesting to see how Notre Dame and Hartman do against some tougher competition throughout the year.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.