When is Sam Hartman NFL draft eligible? Notre Dame QB's years of eligibility explored

Perhaps Sam Hartman is most popular for having the highest number of touchdown passes in the ACC. But you could also call him the poster boy for “Are you ever entering the NFL Draft?”

Hartman's first college football appearance dates were in 2018. And he has appeared in every season ever since. So it's understandable that questions about his eligibility are being asked.

To know whether Hartman is eligible for the NFL draft or when he will be, we must first look at the conditions for draft eligibility. According to NFL rules, a player must have been out of high school for three years and exhausted their college eligibility before being draft eligible.

Hartman has definitely fulfilled the first requirement of this rule, having been out of high school since 2018. However, there's the question of college eligibility. Hartman is playing his sixth season of college football. How hasn't he exhausted his college eligibility?

Sam Hartman was Wake Forest's starting quarterback in his freshman year. But he fell down the pecking order in his sophomore year and became James Newman's backup. Appearing in just four games, he was able to redshirt his sophomore year, gaining him an extra year of college eligibility.

The following season, college football was hit by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the pandemic's effect on the season, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to every athlete that played that season. In other words, Hartman gained another year of college eligibility.

Considering all this, it's clear why Sam Hartman is still an eligible college football player, and not yet qualified for the NFL draft. There is another angle, however. There have been plenty instances of college football players who entered the NFL draft before exhausting their college eligibility.

What happens is that players who have a high probability of getting drafted but are yet to complete their college eligibility apply for an exemption.

When is Sam Hartman NFL draft eligible?

Hartman could have applied for this for himself. But he chose, instead, to transfer to Notre Dame for his final year of eligibility.

Hartman has been an important presence for the Fighting Irish this season. The Irish, entering Week 5 with a 4-1 record are set to face the Duke Blue Devils. It's an opportunity for the quarterback to continue his impressive form. He has thrown for 1,236 yards and 14 touchdowns in four games this season.