Senior day and a reunion for Sam Hartman in the final home game of the season

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind -- The Irish aim to reserve their emotions, as 31 of their seniors are taking their final walk on Notre Dame's field as players in week 11's matchup against Wake Forest.

Although they’re excited, and players and coaches want to get the job done more than anything, it’s hard to ignore 31 seniors leaving the tunnel for the final time--three of them being captains.

“For me, I'm trying to push off those feelings and not think about it too much until it comes,” said senior linebacker JD Bertrand.

“It’s emotional. There's going to be a sad time leaving but um, it'll be fun as well,” said senior defensive back Cam Hart.

The two captains are part of the 2019 recruiting class – and have helped the Irish become the seventh ranked defense in the country.

As for individual accolades, Cam Hart is known as one of the best corners in the country, not allowing a single touchdown this season.

“I try not to focus on that. I call that rat poison. And now whenever my friends and family send me all that stuff, I just block it out,” Hart added.

As for Bertrand, he's leading Notre Dame in tackles for the third consecutive season and in his final home game, he's got one mission.

“The biggest thing is like we're playing a really good opponent. We're playing a team that's battling for bowl eligibility, and we're not going we know that they're going to come in ready to go,” Bertrand mentioned.

But nobody knows that more than Sam Hartman, getting a chance to face Wake Forest, a team he spent five years with as the quarterback before transferring to Notre Dame and his teammates want him to walk away with the win over his former team.

“It's a special one for him. Like we all know, he'd been in cars for a couple of years. So, this is his last final game, and it's a great opportunity to go out gets a team that he'd been playing for five years. So, I'm happy I'm excited for him,” said running back Audric Estime.