How is 'trouper' Sam Hartman after taking a hit for Notre Dame football?
SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football quarterback Sam Hartman was in a boisterous mood as he left the field after Saturday’s 41-17 win over Central Michigan.
Asked his message to the home crowd ahead of the upcoming showdown with No. 6 Ohio State, Hartman lowered his typically monotone voice to a WWE-style growl: “Show up. Be early. And be rowdy!”
It was an encouraging sign for Hartman after he took a lower-body hit midway through the third quarter that had him gesturing in frustration at the lack of a penalty on 280-pound defensive lineman Quindario Lee.
“First thing I said was, ‘Are you OK?'" Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said of his exchange with Hartman. “He said, ‘Yeah, I kind of turned my knee or rolled my leg.’ … You don’t want to see anybody limping off the field.”
Freeman gave the officials an earful after the play, which saw Hartman fling an incompletion on third and 10 from the Irish 20.
“You protect your player; you care about your player,” Freeman said. “I just kind of mentioned to the refs, ‘Hey, protect our quarterback a little bit.’ I care about Sam, but I also want to make sure we protect him, too. You want to protect every member of your team.”
Analysis: How Notre Dame football QB Sam Hartman wins over fans behind enemy lines
Hartman returned on the next series and immediately hit Rico Flores Jr. on a 42-yard streak down the sideline, but he also overthrew Jaden Greathouse on consecutive routes as the Irish were forced to settle for a 50-yard field goal by Spencer Shrader.
Hartman went 5 of 8 passing after getting twisted up with Lee. Backup quarterback Steve Angeli handled the final series after replacing Hartman with 3:22 left in the game and Notre Dame comfortably ahead.
“He’s a trouper,” Freeman said of Hartman. “I asked him over the headset: ‘How’s Sam?’ He said he’s fine.”
Hartman passed for 330 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another in a 16-for-26 passing performance. He moved into a tie for seventh with former Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones on the all-time FBS list with his 123rd touchdown pass, including five seasons at Wake Forest.
Hartman, who has yet to throw an interception against 13 touchdown passes this year, hit Tobias Merriweather for a 75-yard touchdown on the first offensive series and Chris Tyree for a 76-yard score on the third Irish possession.
“Sam is just a battler,” leading rusher Audric Estime said. “No matter what, he’s going to get up. Even if he’s feeling it, you’re not going to know. That’s just the type of guy he is. That is something hard to see. You don’t want to see that, but I’m happy that he’s OK.”
Said Merriweather, “He’s an NFL guy. The difference between college and NFL, the quarterbacks just don’t give the receivers a choice but to catch it. They just throw it on you, and it’s going to be there, and you expect it to be there. That’s what Sam does for us.”
Follow Notre Dame football writer Mike Berardino on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football heaves sigh of relief after scare for Sam Hartman
