ALABASTER, AL — Sam Hartman can’t recall the moment he was handed a football for the first time. It’s just part of who he is, always.
“My first memories were fishing on Lake Norman and then throwing a football,” he stated.The native of Charlotte has pursued this interest all the way to the draft stage. Hartman will play in the 75th anniversary Reese’s Senior Bowl (1 p.m. EST, NFL Network) this weekend, his final game in a collegiate uniform. The finest prospects in the draft class are shown up close to NFL scouts during the all-star week of practices and the game. The former Davidson Day player has made a name for himself as one of those prospects following a lengthy Wake Forest and Notre Dame undergraduate career.
However, that route began in the Queen City. It began, in a sense, in the Bank of America Stadium stands.
“My parents owned PSLs while I was growing up. This week in Mobile, Hartman recalled, “We did it all.” “I was a huge fan of Steve Smith Sr. and Jake Delhomme. It was enjoyable to watch Jake hit a deep ball down the field, and Charlotte has always held a particular place in my heart.
Delhomme led 17 comebacks in the fourth quarter during his seven-year tenure in Charlotte, a franchise record. In addition to leading seven fourth-quarterback comebacks—six at Wake Forest and one at Notre Dame—the boy in the stands watching him would go on to become the record holder for career passing attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns. He would also have the most touchdown passes in conference history—110—and the second-highest passing yards—12,967.
Hartman played twice at Bank of America Stadium while attending Wake Forest. With numerous interceptions, both were losses.
“I performed terribly. I guess being at that stadium is a bit of a bad luck charm,” Hartman quipped about the recollection.
However, he has a ton of other memories from the stadium, recollections that fed his ambition to play quarterback and eventually make it to the NFL.
“I just always remember Jake Delhomme dropping back and throwing the ball as high as possible and Steve Smith somehow always running under there and catching it,” Hartman said last week.
While attending Wake Forest, Hartman played twice at Bank of America Stadium. Both were losses with many of interceptions.
“I gave a terrible performance. “I suppose being at that stadium is somewhat of a misfortune charm,” Hartman joked in reference to the memory.
All of his other memories from the stadium, though, fueled his desire to play quarterback and eventually make it to the NFL.
“I just always remember Jake Delhomme dropping back and throwing the ball as high as possible and Steve Smith somehow always running under there and catching it,” Hartman stated last week.
“I know Bryce pretty well and trained with his same trainers out in California and I’ve been a big fan of Bryce,” he said. “The year was the year, but I’m super happy for him.
He’s an unbelievable, unbelievable football player, and unbelievable man…he obviously has a lot of stuff that he can handle, and being a Heisman Trophy winner, being a first-round draft pick, I mean, all those different things and the pressure that was put on him and the way he handles himself on and off the field, it’s cool to see and somebody I aspire to be like.”
It remains to be seen what Sam Hartman’s future holds and whether or not he will make a complete circle return to Bank of America Stadium. But this ambition seemed obvious to someone whose first recollections are of a football and Lake Norman.
“It’s just kind of been something I was born doing,” Hartman said. “I love doing it and I’m happy to be here doing it as well.”
