Wake Forest coach not impressed with Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman tribute

Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman during Notre Dame Fall Camp on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at Irish Athletics Center in South Bend, Indiana. Photo Credit: John Mersits / USA TODAY NETWORK

Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson was not particularly impressed with how Notre Dame celebrated outgoing senior quarterback Sam Hartman on Saturday.

Hartman, who transferred from Wake Forest to Notre Dame prior to the season, was given a major sendoff in his final Notre Dame home game, which coincidentally came against the Demon Deacons. The senior threw four touchdown passes in a 45-7 win, and Notre Dame played the song “I Will Always Love You” as he exited the field.

Clawson thought this was all a bit much considering Wake Forest did the work of developing the quarterback.

“When that video played, it’s just like, ‘Holy cow, this is where college football is,'” Clawson said, via David Hale of ESPN. “Sam and I had a great discussion before the game and after the game, and I love the young man. I really do. 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?

“That’s reality, and there’s no point in complaining about it. Here’s a guy that we recruited and we developed. They’re putting a video on him saying, ‘We will always love you.’ Like, you only dated him for a couple of months. It can’t be love. We’re the ones that love him. We had five years with him. You rented him for a season.”

Clawson may be right that the Demon Deacons did the work with Hartman, but the quarterback clearly made an impression at Notre Dame in his lone season there. The coach comes off sounding a bit bitter in his commentary as a result.

In total, Hartman threw 22 touchdown passes and rushed for three more scores while guiding the Fighting Irish to an 8-3 season to date.