Sam Hartman’s final game at Notre Dame is officially in the books, but his former head coach isn’t too happy with the send off Hartman received in South Bend.
Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson slammed the celebration that Hartman received last weekend during the Fighting Irish’s game against the Demon Deacons. Hartman, who spent five seasons at Wake Forest before transferring to Notre Dame last summer, threw four touchdowns in their 45-7 win over Wake Forest on Saturday.
While trying to make a point about the new college football landscape when it comes to NIL deals, Clawson ripped the reception that Hartman received.
"We saw it last week at South Bend. Here's a guy that we recruited and we developed, and they're putting a video on him saying we will always love you," Clawson <a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Atm_XfcOs&t=1444s&ab_channel=WakeForestAthletics"><ins>said</ins></a>.
"You only dated him for a couple of months, it can't be love. We're the ones that love him, we had vie years with him. You rented him for a season. They bought him and rented him for a year, and now they love him."
Hartman, who first landed at Wake Forest in 2018, threw for nearly 13,000 yards with the Demon Deacons — which is second all-time in ACC history. He threw a conference record 110 touchdown passes, and set school records in passing yards, passing touchdowns and completions while also getting the team to the ACC championship game in 2021.
Yet with one season of eligibility left, Hartman opted to move to Notre Dame. He landed a major NIL deal in the process, too, which is the point that Clawson was trying to make. He’s concerned that it’s harder for smaller programs, like Wake Forest, to keep up with larger programs with major resources, like Notre Dame, in the NIL race.
"You've got to laugh sometimes so you don't cry," Clawson said. "It's insane, but it is the new reality and there's no point in complaining about it."
Hartman has thrown for 2,549 yards and 22 touchdowns in 11 games with the Fighting Irish this season. They’ll end their season against Stanford on Saturday. Hartman took the comments in-stride in an Instagram post on Wednesday night, too, using a subtle quote from “The Dark Knight” to hit back at Clawson.
While his comments were pointed, Clawson insisted that he doesn’t have any issues with Hartman specifically.
"Sam and I had a great discussion before the game and after the game, and I love the young man. I really do," Clawson said. "I don't blame him at all for what he did. That's the system now. For him to have the opportunity to have that experience and make that type of money in one year, who can fault him?
"I've never ever been critical of Sam or how he handled it or what he did. That's the system."