Can Notre Dame's Sam Hartman win the 2023 Heisman?

Vaughn Dalzell breaks down why he is going down the board and rocking with Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman to win the 2023 Heisman at +1800 odds.

Sam Hartman to win the Heisman (+1800)

One of the most stunning moves in the offseason was Sam Hartman leaving Wake Forest and joining Notre Dame to give the Fighting Irish a legitimate chance at a College Football playoff berth.

Hartman has thrown for 7,925 passing yards, 77 touchdowns, and 26 interceptions with a 60.7 completion percentage over 26 games. That is 304.8 passing yards per game and 2.9 touchdowns to 1.0 interceptions per game over that two-year and 26-game span.

The redshirt senior is also mobile, rushing for 12 scores over the last two seasons, giving him 89 total touchdowns. Hartman’s 77 touchdown passes are the third-most in that two-year span behind Bryce Young (Alabama) and CJ Stroud (Ohio State) -- the top two picks in the 2022 NFL Draft.

The former Deamon Decon is one of the most prolific quarterbacks in college football right now and 2-1 in Bowl Games with a lone loss to Wisconsin in a COVID year. In the previous two Bowl Games, Hartman threw for 584 yards, six touchdowns, and one interception with two wins and 32.5 points per game.

The Fighting Irish enter the season with high expectations for Marcus Freeman’s second full season. Freeman has gained crucial experiences going 1-1 in Bowl Games and 9-4 during his first season and 14 games with Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame defense ranked 23rd-fewest passing yards per game (198.0), 37th-fewest rushing yards (131.3), and 39th in points per game allowed (23.0). With plenty of returning starters in impressive linebacker and secondary rooms, plus another year in that scheme, Notre Dame’s defense should give Hartman plenty of possessions despite the tempo difference between Notre Dame and Wake Forest. The offensive line is also a contender for the Joe Moore Award per plenty of reports, which is given to the best offensive line unit in the country.

Notre Dame has seven Heisman winners in team history: Angelo Bartelli (1943), Johnny Lujack (1947), Leon Hart (1949), Johnny Lattner (1953), Paul Hornung (1956), John Huarte (1964), and Tim Brown (1987).

The last Heisman contender for Notre Dame at the quarterback position was Brady Quinn in 2006. That season, Quinn won the Maxwell Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which is awarded to the best college football quarterback and best college football player.

Despite those awards, Quinn could not complete the trifecta and finished third in Heisman voting behind the winner, Troy Smith (Ohio State), and runner-up, Darren McFadden (Arkansas). Linebacker Manti Te’o was the last Notre Dame player named a finalist (2012) for the Heisman and he lost to Johnny Manziel (Texas A&M).

Lastly, I believe Notre Dame has a shot at the College Football Playoff this season. The schedule is loaded and challenging, but with matchups at home versus Ohio State, USC, Wake Forest, and Pittsburgh, plus road games at NC State, Clemson, and Stanford -- Hartman will have plenty of primetime games to impress a national audience compared to the coverage he received at Wake Forest.

I rolled with Sam Hartman to win the 2023 Heisman at +1800 odds and would go down to +1500 in the preseason.

Pick: Sam Hartman to win Heisman (1u)

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