Wake Forest Athletics
Changes to Schedule and Mentality Looks to Help Hartman
4/7/2020 12:23:00 PM | Football, Les Johns
After three record-setting seasons on offense, Sam Hartman will look to lead Demon Deacons to new heights.
By Les Johns
With the enormity of entering the 2020 season as the presumed starting quarterback sitting in on redshirt sophomore Sam Hartman, he was sharp enough to take a page from the book of the most successful signal caller thus far in the Dave Clawson era, John Wolford.
In fact, Hartman took several pages from Wolford's planner to help him better organize his time.
Wolford was back on campus for a couple weeks, and during that time Hartman learned valuable strategies on how best to juggle recovery, eating, treatment, throwing, practice and film watching.
"It was cool to learn from him," Hartman said. "He's the most organized person I've ever met. I'm following it to a tee."
The expectations for the starting quarterback at Wake Forest are high, and Hartman understands more of what it takes to succeed in that position.
"My mentality going into it has changed," he said. "It's about the amount of responsibility bestowed upon me, from the university I'm representing to the teammates I'm competing with. I'm going to push and drive, and they are going to rely on me to make big plays. That's on my shoulders now. I couldn't be more excited.
"I think about the 150 people who will be affected, then all the Demon Deacon fans."
After starting the first nine games as a true freshman in 2018, Hartman mostly watched from the sidelines a season ago — playing in the maximum four games allowed to retain redshirt status.
"Everything has changed," Hartman said. "I learned so much last year about finding myself. When I graduate, what are they going to say? This is such a great place to be and such a great place to play. My mindset is completely different."
After winning the starting job in the 2018 fall camp, Hartman threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns in the first nine games of the season. He was electric at times in his college debut at Tulane, throwing for 378 yards and a pair of scores in a sometimes over-exuberant performance. But he also threw two interceptions in a contest which took a Cade Carney rushing fueled overtime period for the Deacs to escape New Orleans with a victory.
Hartman had five interceptions combined in his first three starts, then struggled mightily against Clemson, going 7-for-20 for 74 yards with an interception.
"I got busted up, but learned a lot," Hartman said. "That freshman year was tough, and I made a lot of mistakes. It's very hard to watch sometimes, but I definitely learned a lot."
While Hartman had some great moments as a freshman, he believes he'll show significant improvement from 2018 to 2020.
"I hope a lot," he said. "I hope it's leaps and bounds. Less turnovers and less dumb plays. The big costly mistakes that occured at multiple times during the season.
"It was a gauntlet. You aren't used to waking up on Sundays and not being able to move. I didn't realize at the time that everything I do directly impacts the program, from recovery to sleep. I didn't put enough effort into all that, and it showed later in the season. My body started deteriorating."
The deterioration culminated in a leg injury late in the home loss to Syracuse that forced him to miss the rest of the season. After losing the battle for the starting job in 2019, Hartman threw for 830 yards and four scores largely coming off the bench. It was a role he struggled with in the early half of the season.
"There was a point in the first month where he really struggled with it. It was the bye week and we had lunch," Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson said. "I said, 'Hey, at some point this is going to come back to you. Your preparation and how you get ready for that next moment will dictate whether moving forward you're the quarterback of the future or not. Really the last two months of the season, he practiced really well.
"We won the Florida State game with him as the quarterback. His play allowed us to get back into the Louisville game. He lit it up against Syracuse. The job he did in that game got us back into the game. Of my list of concerns, quarterback is not near the top of that list. We're very confident about the quarterback position heading into 2020. They have to go play, execute and do all those things. But when I look at our depth chart and personnel board, I certainly have bigger concerns than I do at the quarterback position."
Clawson said he can understand how a strong competitor like Hartman could have a hard time handling not being on the field competing with his teammates every week, waiting to have his turn once again.
"There's still light at the end of the tunnel," he told Hartman. "There's clearly a path for you to be a two or a three-year starter. Your preparation and how you handle this moment can define how those two or three years go.
"He stuck with Wake Forest and never hesitated in his commitment to the team, but then you have to show that in practice as well. The last two months of the season, in October and November, Sam practiced at a high level."
Hartman began spring camp as the clear top choice on the quarterback depth chart with little experience behind him. Michael Kern played two games last season as a true freshman, completing just seven passes in nine attempts. New to the roster are Mitch Griffis and walk on Leo Kelly.
"We're always competing," Hartman said. "The guys below me, (Michael) Kern, (Mitch) Griffis and Leo (Kelly) are always competing and pushing each other. I want them to push me, and I'll push them to be the best they can be. It'll still be competitive.
"I think I've learned a lot from my first few camps. I know more of what not to do. It's nice to kind of have everybody's attention that this is your job and your team."
There are plenty of weapons returning around Hartman, with wide receiver Sage Surratt returning for his redshirt junior season and the late-season emergence of Donavon Greene.
"I can't wait," Hartman said. "I'm like a kid before Christmas, just getting to be out on the field playing football again with my teammates. It seems like it was a short break. It's what we love to do and I can't wait to throw a ball to Donnie (Donavon Greene) and to hand the ball off to Kenneth (Walker) and Christian (Beal-Smith).
"At running back, we have Christian Beal-Smith, Kenny Walker and Kendrell (Flowers), which will be a three-headed snake that can do it all. It's going to be fun to watch them. They're very explosive and different from the bruiser we lost in Cade Carney."
The three most prolific offensive seasons in Wake Forest program history have occurred in the last three years, so there are huge expectations for Hartman to keep that momentum rolling in 2020.
"I'm excited for our team," he said. "We have a great thing right now. I'm excited to play football again. We're going to push each other and them whoop up on some people."
