Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman won't play in Sun Bowl
Steve Angeli will start in Hartman's place
The Sun Bowl won’t feature the starting quarterbacks for both Oregon State and Notre Dame.
Notre Dame confirmed Monday that starting QB Sam Hartman wouldn’t play in the bowl game slated for Dec. 29. Hartman was Notre Dame’s primary QB in 2023 after transferring from Wake Forest.
The Irish then made it clear in a subsequent tweet that backup Steve Angeli would start the game.
You heard the banana, it’s peanut butter Angeli time. #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/oVk7uuX7YC
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) December 11, 2023
The news of Hartman’s opt out comes approximately a week after Oregon State QB DJ Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal. Uiagalelei transferred to Oregon State from Clemson ahead of the 2023 season.
Oregon State backup QB Aidan Chiles is also in the transfer portal. The Beavers will start No. 3 QB Ben Gulbranson against the Irish in new head coach Trent Bray's first game in charge. Bray took over for Jonathan Smith after Smith left to become Michigan State's head coach.
Hartman played in all 12 of Notre Dame’s games this season and was 191-of-301 passing for 2,689 yards. He threw 24 TDs and eight interceptions. He threw far fewer TD passes with the Irish than he did in either 2021 or 2022 at Wake Forest, but he also threw far fewer passes.
Hartman threw 508 passes in 2021 and 428 passes a season ago. His completion percentage in 2023 was the highest of his career and the 8.9 yards per attempt was also the best mark of his six-year career.
The 24-year-old concludes his college career with 15,656 passing yards and 134 TDs and 49 interceptions. Hartman appeared in 60 games over six seasons and started 38 games over the past three seasons.
Angeli appeared in seven games and has thrown 25 passes in 2023. The sophomore completed 19 of those throws for 272 yards and four TDs and an interception.
