Sports

Ari and Isaac’s Super Sporty Spotlight: Sam Hartman

Isaac Shrader and Ari Shemesh

December 15, 2023

ESPN

On Saturday, Nov. 28, Notre Dame’s star quarterback Sam Hartman played his last game of college football, leading his team to a win over the Stanford Cardinal and finishing the season as a fan-favorite quarterback. Sam Hartman took South Bend by storm with his dashing good looks and loveable personality, causing thousands of fans to rally behind the Sam Hartman craze. However, in addition to his irresistible charm, Sam Hartman is a talented quarterback who is looking to further his career by entering the NFL Draft. While Sam Hartman prepares for the next chapter in his football career, let’s take a look at what he has accomplished over the years.

Although many fans know him from his short time on the Fighting Irish, Sam Hartman spent the first five years of his college career at Wake Forest. Throughout his first two years on the team, he had to fight for a starting role, and only managed to play 12 games total. However, his stats started to pick up in the 2020 season, in which he managed to rack up more than 2,000 yards. Over the next two seasons, he would total 7,929 passing yards, 77 touchdowns, with 26 interceptions. In the 2022 season, Hartman led Wake Forest to a record of 8-5, throwing for 3,701 yards with 38 touchdowns. Additionally, he helped the team win the Gasparilla Bowl, earning himself the MVP honors in the game. This made Hartman the first person in the school’s history to win two bowl MVP honors. At the end of the year, he was named the winner of the Brian Piccolo Award for being the “most courageous” player in the ACC, as he only missed one game after having surgery due to Paget-Schroetter disease. He was a finalist for the Manning Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, as well as a semifinalist for Davey O’Brien Award. By the time that Hartman left Wake Forest, he was the record holder for career passing attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. To go along with this he had the most touchdown passes and second most passing yards in ACC history.

On Jan. 28, 2023, Sam Hartman transferred to Notre Dame and started his first game on Aug. 26, 2023, leading the team to a win over Navy in Dublin, Ireland, a fitting place to begin his career as a member of the Irish. In addition to the win Hartman also tied the Notre Dame record for most touchdown passes in a player’s debut with four. Hartman helped the team achieve a 9-3 record, with big wins over USC and Hartman’s old team, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. During his short stint with Notre Dame, Hartman made a large impact on the field, passing for 2,689 yards and 24 touchdowns, but he made an even larger impact among his starstruck fans. Overall, Hartman’s short stint at Notre Dame is characterized by determination to win and his endearing presence that brightened the entire Notre Dame football experience.

At the end of his final season, Hartman chose to opt out of Notre’ Dame’s Bowl game in order to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft, as well as give Notre Dame’s backup, sophomore Steven Angeli, a chance to showcase his skills on the field. Hartman’s career as a college football player finished with him passing for 15,656 yards and 134 touchdowns, not including his 20 rushing touchdowns. These statistics will certainly make noise in the NFL scouting report, as they have already cemented him as a highly skilled college football player who has a bright future ahead of him, especially if he maintains those good looks!

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About the Contributors

Isaac Shrader, Reporter

Isaac Shrader, a senior at Adams, is in his second year as a sports reporter for the Tower and is ready to get back in on the action. Since a young age, Isaac has always had a passion for creating stories. He initially joined The Tower to explore new types of writing, as well as learn more about the world through a journalistic lens. Isaac values honesty and creativity in what he writes and hopes to grab the attention of a diverse group of readers through his articles, while also providing accurate, engaging information, particularly about sports. In addition to writing for the Tower, Isaac is captain of the John Adams Men’s Swim Team (which you should join if you want to be involved in the universally agreed upon best sport at John Adams High School) and a member of the National Honors Society. Isaac enjoys attending various sporting events at Adams, along with the fun sports culture that comes with it. Writing for The Tower has been a very rewarding experience for Isaac and he hopes to continue providing accurate news to the John Adams School Community. Isaac encourages Adams students to read The Tower because of the accurate, engaging information it provides. He hopes that students go to the sports page, where they will likely be able to read one of his articles. If you ever stumble across Isaac outside of school, he’ll likely be doing some of his favorite things such as listening to music, writing, hiking, watching sports, or spending time with friends and family. Isaac hopes to be able to share his creativity and knowledge with those who take the time to read his articles and asks that you help him have more reads this year than his fellow reporter, Ari Shemesh.

Ari Shemesh, Reporter

Ari Shemesh, a senior at Adams, is excited to be back for his second year as a member of The Tower, and is eager to finally get back on the reporting grind. This year, Ari is hoping to spend more quality time with his friend David Nagy, amongst others (Isaac Shrader), while continuing to write for The Tower and learn valuable writing and reporting skills While his mornings are spent being an incredibly successful reporter, , Ari is starting his fourth year on the John Adams tennis team, where he dominates every afternoon. When given time to chill, Ari likes to play video games, watch movies, and watch or play sports with his family and friends. Furthermore, Ari enjoys spending his summers at an overnight camp, where this past summer break, he cleaned toilets and dishes for two months. Ari’s favorite classes in school are history and English; He is also a member of NHS, and spends time volunteering at the Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley. Ari is very excited to start his final year as a reporter and a student at Adams. His one request this year is that you guys help him finish the year with more reads than Isaac Shrader.