Coach | New Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman Has Never Been Outworked

This isn’t exactly new for Sam Hartman.

The quarterback who just announced he would be transferring from Wake Forest to Notre Dame for his final season of collegiate ball has been here before.

As a high-schooler, Hartman racked up huge numbers in two seasons at Davidson Day in North Carolina before deciding to follow his head coach, Chad Grier, from Davidson Day to Oceanside Collegiate Academy in South Carolina.

That worked out OK as Hartman threw for over 3,000 yards and 29 touchdowns, helping his team improve from 0-8 the year before he arrived to 7-3 in his one season with the Landsharks.

Hartman may not have been envisioning the exact scenario in college, but he did realize the move would prepare him for the future.

“When he made that decision to move to Charleston, he said, 'When I go to college, I've got win over a whole new locker room. I've got to earn their respect,’” Grier recalls. “He said, 'I've got to be able to start over and earn it from scratch.' It was good practice he thought to do that.”

And it certainly paid off.

“Obviously, he went to Wake and was able to play as a true freshman,” Grier continues. “He knows what he is doing.”

Grier expects that experience to pay dividends in South Bend as well.

“The thing with Sam is it's not a put-on,” the coach says. “He's going to be the most selfless, hardest-working guy in the room and that means not just the quarterback room, the weight room, the team room, the training room, whatever it takes. He's a guy that's going to do that.

“I think he naturally has the ability to win guys over because he's not going to come in as, 'Hey, I'm big-time.' He's going to come in as a humble, servant leader. That's just his personality.”

Grier believes the Irish and Irish fans are going to be happy with who they’re getting.

“The most fiercely competitive kid, humble with great confidence still, an incredible work ethic,” he says. “Nobody's ever outworked the guy.

“I think he's been underrated as a passer. He can touch all the spots on the field. He's been doing it at a very high level against great competition for a long time, obviously. You can watch film and figure out what he can do with his arm and his feet, but it's his leadership in the weight room and the meeting room and the offseason, he's the whole package. He brings everything to the table.

Grier believes Hartman could fit into any offense and obviously had great success with the Demon Deacons, but the chance to show what he can do in a different system could make him a more attractive NFL prospect.

“I think for Sam it just helps him expand his case for the next level. His dream is to play on Sundays and I don't have any question that he's going to do that. I think this just gives a better chance for him to be evaluated in a different light and maybe improve his draft position.”

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