Is Sam Hartman a senior? Notre Dame QB's collegiate career and draft eligibility explored

Notre Dame Fighting Irish player Sam Hartman is one of college football's genuinely good guys and among the most talented and experienced quarterbacks.

Sam Hartman joined the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in 2018 and immediately became the starting quarterback. He played college football for five complete seasons for Wake Forest and is in his sixth year at Notre Dame.

Is Sam Hartman a senior?

No, Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman is not a senior. He's a graduate student majoring in communications with a minor in journalism. The 24-year-old has played for Wake Forest for four years before transferring to Notre Dame as a grad student. Hartman will be a part of the 2024 NFL Draft.

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Sam Hartman: The background

Hartman won the starting quarterback role as a freshman at Wake Forest, and he hit the ground running, finishing the season with 1,984 yards resulting in 16 touchdowns.

In 2019, during his second year at Wake Forest, Hartman only managed four games as a backup to Jamie Newman. He redshirted that year and preserved an extra year of eligibility.

He had two redshirt sophomore years, in 2020 and 2021, with the former being canceled and not counted as a year of eligibility for student-athletes. This is the primary reason why he is able to play well into his sixth year, which is his last year of eligibility.

The 2021 season was the best of Sam Hartman's career, ending it with 4,228 passing yards resulting in 39 touchdowns.

Hartman's five seasons playing for Wake Forest allowed him to rack up the statistics. He is the record holder of touchdown passes in the Atlantic Coast Conference with 110 and is second in the ACC's passing yards ranking, having thrown for 12,967 yards.

Since joining Notre Dame in 2023, Hartman has thrown for 1,712 yards over seven games, resulting in 16 touchdowns on 64.5% completion and only three interceptions.

The recent loss to the Louisville Cardinals will not do Sam Hartman's draft chances any good, as he threw three interceptions alongside getting sacked five times.

Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman defended his quarterback robustly after the game.

"Everybody is going to point the finger at Sam," Freeman said. "You better point the finger at me. We have to do a better job of protecting our quarterback and putting him in situations to have a higher percentage for success."

Unfortunately for Sam Hartman, he is in a draft class that has been classed as quarterback-heavy with several talented options who could get picked ahead of him.

With the Fighting Irish all but out of College Football Playoff contention, Hartman will turn his attention toward the Heisman Trophy and making sure he is picked as high as possible in the 2024 NFL draft.