Observations on Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman from Tuesday’s full practice

Sometimes we expect too much from players with proven track records. Some players have had enough success that we believe it’s just a given they’re going to deliver on every single rep. They can’t ever fail. That’s where we might be with Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman.

Well, we were wrong. Even Tom Brady failed. He lost three Super Bowls. His last throw in a New England Patriots uniform was an interception returned for a touchdown. The final game of his career was a 31-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys — in the playoffs. Even the most venerable of athletes are susceptible to failure.

Also, **Allen Iverson voice** … this is practice. We’re talking about practice. Not a game. Practice.

At first, it didn’t feel like Hartman had a particular impressive one at TCU School Field in South Bend in front of a media contingent that was allowed to look on the entire time. Then several lines of notes told a different story.

Hartman did, in fact, do a lot of good on a comfortable evening under the Tuesday night lights. In competitive throws (ones that were guarded by Notre Dame defensive players) in various situations, from one-on-one to 3-on-3 to 11-on-11, Blue & Gold tallied Hartman at 14-of-27 with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Here is a complete rundown of Hartman’s practice.

Pre 11-on-11

• Hartman started the evening off with an overthrow of freshman wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. going up against sophomore corner Jaden Mickey in a post-stretching, pre-practice one-on-one rep.

• Flores Jr. ran a short fade to the right corner of the end zone from five or so yards away from the goal line. Mickey locked him up pretty good. Hartman did all he could to give Flores Jr. a chance with nobody else to throw to because, well, it was a one-on-one, of course. He had one option and one option only. In that situation, the right thing to do equated to purposely throwing the ball long. It was still way too far out of Flores Jr.’s reach. That was a precursor for what was to come from Hartman on his missed throws in team periods.

• Hartman went 7-of-12 in a few periods in which two or three receiving targets went up against two defensive backs and a linebacker working on zone coverages in short-yardage situations.

• Hartman completed passes to junior tight end Mitchell Evans, sophomore tight end Holden Staes, Flores Jr., freshman wide receiver Braylon James, senior wide receiver Chris Tyree, junior wide receiver Jayden Thomas and freshman walk-on wide receiver Jordan Faison. He was incomplete on passes intended for junior wide receiver Deion Colzie (X2), James, Tyree and sophomore wideout Tobias Merriweather.

• There wasn’t much to these throws. They were all in short areas; a lot of stops, hitches and outs. Hartman’s best connection in the 3-on-3 periods was when he fooled Notre Dame safety Antonio Carter II with a pump fake to create space for Staes. That was also a sign of something to come. More on that in a bit.

• The misfires to Colzie were both on the receiver; Colzie dropped a pass that hit him right in his hands on an out, and he ran the wrong route on the other.

• Hartman couldn’t connect with James or Merriweather on routes that ran out of real estate toward the left corner of the end zone. Carter II rebounded to break up the pass intended for James, and the one to Merriweather drifted out of bounds.

11-on-11

• Hartman went 7-of-14 with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception in 11-on-11 periods.

• The first touchdown came on a play in which he channeled his inner Aaron Rodgers and briefly hid the ball on his hip during a play-action rollout. He waltzed to his left and led Evans into the end zone on a short throw. It looked like something out of a textbook. Beautiful execution. Red zone brilliance.

• The second Hartman TD in 11 on 11 came on a nice play design by the Notre Dame offense. The left side of the formation was overloaded, causing the defense confusion. Graduate student running back Devyn Ford slipped into the right flat. Hartman did the right thing, again, in leading his target. All Ford had to do once he caught the ball was make one man miss, and he did. That man was sophomore linebacker Jaylen Sneed.

• Hartman’s other 11 on 11 completions went to Tyree, sophomore running back Jadarian Price (X2), Staes and Ford again.

• The highlight of the non-touchdown completions was a roll-out jump pass. Yeah, you read that right. A roll-out jump pass. Hartman first fooled Sneed on a pump-fake to gather some breathing room for himself while allowing Staes to get some separation in the left flat. That savvy sixth-year move elicited some oos and ahhs from the media in the stands. Then Hartman jumped and fired to Staes, the leaping coming to make sure he still got the ball behind Sneed’s length. He did. Staes was able to turn and run up field for some extra yards and a first down.

• The two completed passes to Price were blown up screens. The Notre Dame defense was all over them.

• On the pass to Tyree, Ford had a nice chip on a bull-rushing Jordan Botelho to buy Hartman some time. Hartman went through his progressions and found Tyree over the middle.

• The non-touchdown completion to Ford was a nice third and 6 read from Hartman. He went through his reads looking left before checking to see what he had with Ford on the right. What he had was enough room for a catch and run for a first down.

• Hartman tried looking for Merriweather on his very first throw in 11 on 11. Graduate student corner Cam Hart blanketed Merriweather in coverage. The ball seemed to go right where it needed to, but Hart was all over it. That was a veteran in Hart beating a youngster in Merriweather. Hartman still trusted his guy to make a play. Eventually, that ball will connect.

• Hartman missed badly on a ball intended for freshman Jaden Greathouse on a simple seam route. He flung the ball behind his target. Greathouse had room to run if the ball was where it needed to be. It simply wasn’t, and even a guy like Hartman is going to have those types of misses.

• Hartman missed on a deep ball down the right side to Thomas. It seemed to be the same route Merriweather ran earlier against Hart. This time, it was slightly overthrown. Mickey was all over Thomas in coverage anyway.

• Hartman missed Thomas and Merriweather again on consecutive throws down the right-side on go routes, his favorite — even if it wan’t hitting them Tuesday. He kept trying them over and over without incremental success. That’s what you get with a gunslinger like Hartman, and that’s what he has a career 59.1 percent completion percentage. Notre Dame is going to have to learn to live with the misfires if it means he hits a few of them for long scores.

• One of Hartman’s incomplete passes was very much not his fault. The combination of Pat Coogan at left guard and Ashton Craig, playing enter in place of a potentially dehydrated Zeke Correll, were bulldozed by the Notre Dame defensive line. Hartman floated a pass that nobody on either side had a chance of coming away with.

• Hartman tried a left-side deep ball intended intended for graduate student Matt Salerno, who was draped in double coverage. Senior safety Ramon Henderson stepped in front of the ball and picked it off. Throwing to Salerno, a former walk-on who doesn’t have the best speed in the wide receiver room — in double coverage, no less — isn’t exactly a good decision by a sixth-year QB. It was Hartman’s final throw of the night.

What to take away from Hartman’s performance

• Hartman had great moments. He had good moments. He had bad moments. That’s just what a fall camp practice looks like for a quarterback, even one who is doing this for the sixth time.

• Hartman was not afraid to try the long ball, which is a sign he’s stayed true to himself in his transition from Wake Forest to Notre Dame. He led the NCAA in air yards in 2022 for a reason. He likes to go deep. He will continue to be who he is, for better or worse.

• The athleticism Hartman showed on back-to-back throws to Staes and Evans was impressive. He can do some things outside the pocket defenses might not be ready for. The Notre Dame defense wasn’t ready for those tricks up his sleeve Tuesday. He’s cool and confident in his craftiness.

• Lastly, look how many different receivers Hartman connected with in competitive periods. His 14 completed passes were to nine different players. That’s another staple of Hartman’s game; getting everybody involved. Notre Dame pass-catchers will love that about him this fall.

• Hartman seems very comfortable in the pocket even when his offensive line isn’t protecting him the way it should. Let this be known; the Notre Dame offensive line was tremendously outworked by the Irish defensive line for large stretches of Tuesday’s practice. Hartman didn’t panic and start throwing the ball all over. He didn’t force anything. He took a few (non-contact, whistle-blown) sacks, which is better than turning the ball over. That’s his experience shining through.

• This didn’t feel like the full practice the media was able to view in the spring when Hartman completed 3-of-14 attempts in 11-on-11 periods. The timing was much better. The throws were to all areas of the field instead of the same misses over and over, outside of his inability to hit the deep ball on the right side. There were plenty of positives to hang onto in the face of some correctable blunders.

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