“Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame, wake up the echoes cheering her name, send a volley cheer on high, shake down the thunder from the sky.” If you’re a Notre Dame fan, you know this season has been far from enjoyable. Yeah, it’s cool to beat up on USC, but losing to Ohio State, Louisville, and Clemson hurts. It especially hurts when we thought we had the messiah slinging the rock. While it wasn’t all the fault of the extremely handsome Sam Hartman, he didn’t play great against Louisville, Pitt and Clemson.

Opposite of the infamous Denis Green speech, Sam Hartman was not who we thought he was. And that’s probably the fault of the fans, including myself. We thought he was going to come in right away and win us a National Championship. With the schedule we had, that was never a realistic expectation. After you pump Navy, Tennessee State, and Central Michigan, it does feel like a reality. Then, you play a contender like Ohio State and that dream becomes a depressing actuality.

2024 could be different, though. Marcus Freeman and company attacked the transfer portal head-on and have reportedly landed Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard battled injuries this season, but did play well when healthy for the Blue Devils. Behind one of the nation’s best offensive lines and having a loaded running back room will only make Leonard’s production skyrocket in 2024.

What is interesting is that if Leonard is named the starter, which we can presume will happen, he’ll become the latest transfer quarterback to start for the Irish. In 2021, Jack Coan transferred in from Wisconsin and went 11-2. Two years later, Sam Hartman comes in from Wake Forest and has gone 9-3 as a starter. I’m excited to see the future of Notre Dame football with Riley Leonard at the helm.