Notre Dame quarterback to make surgically removed rib into necklace

Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman will enter his sixth college season on a new campus after transferring from Wake Forest following the 2022 college football season. 

His sixth year comes after a season with the Demon Deacons in which Hartman underwent surgery in August 2022 to remove a blood clot due to a condition known as Paget-Schroetter syndrome. 

Sam Hartman, #10 of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, drops back to pass against the Clemson Tigers during the first half of their game at Truist Field on September 24, 2022, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. (Lance King/Getty Images)

The procedure included the removal of a rib near Hartman’s collarbone to give the blood vessels more space and prevent future clotting, according to The Athletic. 

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Hartman has said that the removed rib will soon be made into a necklace. 

“The rib is good. It’s actually clean. It looks like a fossil-type deal. It is well on its way to becoming a necklace. I think we’re a couple of weeks out from finalizing it. Just making sure that we take great care of it and make sure that it stays in one piece,” Hartman said Thursday on “The Paul Finebaum Show.”

Hartman said his mother is in charge of making the necklace, though he doesn’t plan on wearing it often. 

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Sam Hartman (10) throws the football during the Notre Dame Blue-Gold Spring Football Game at Notre Dame Stadium on April 22, 2023, in South Bend, Indiana.  (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“My mom actually is handling it for me,” Hartman continued. “So, shout-out to Mom as always, the angel. She worked as a nurse in labor delivery, intensive care. . . . She’s seen worse, I would say. 

“She kind of took the bull by the horns, and I asked her to try and make it kind of like a puka shell type deal, with the rib like a shark tooth at the end.” 

Hartman only missed one game following the procedure, returning for Wake Forest’s Week 2 matchup against Vanderbilt. 

Hartman threw for 3,701 yards and 38 touchdowns in his final season in Winston-Salem, leading the Demon Deacons to a record of 8-5. 

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman chats with quarterback Sam Hartman (10) during the Notre Dame Blue-Gold Spring Football Game at Notre Dame Stadium on April 22, 2023, in South Bend, Indiana.   (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

He now takes over under center for the Fighting Irish as head coach Marcus Freeman enters his second season. 

Notre Dame will welcome Wake Forest to South Bend, IN, on November 18th. 

“The Wake Forest one’s tough. It’ll be tough all around. I think you’re at a place so long, you know everybody on the team other than the new guys that have just showed up in the summer,” Hartman said Thursday.  “It’s a big game for both teams. And obviously, every game that late in the season is going to be a big one.”