Wake Forest already faced a short week of preparation in advance of Thursday’s game at NC State. The Deacons’ task got even more complicated Sunday with coach Dave Clawson’s announcement that quarterback Sam Hartman will miss the rest of the season.
Officially, the freshman suffered a leg injury during Saturday’s loss to Syracuse at BB&T Field. According to published reports, the injury is a broken bone in his foot.
Hartman completed 21 of 37 passes for 275 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the 41-24 loss that dropped Wake’s record to 4-5 overall (1-4 ACC). He was also sacked six times.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Charlotte native burst onto the scene with a memorable performance in leading the Deacons from behind in an opening night win at Tulane. For the season, he ranks third nationally among FBS freshmen with 1,984 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. Those 16 scoring passes and his 2,259 total offensive yards are both school records for rookies. His yardage is just 53 shy of John Wolford’s freshman mark set in 2014.
“Sam’s awesome, he’s a young guy, whatever,” running back Matt Colburn said after Saturday’s game. “He can ball. That’s just the point, period. He can freaking ball.”
Hartman, who has started all nine games thus far, is the 12th Wake player to be lost for the season because of injury.
In his absence, the Deacons will turn to either backup Jamie Newman or converted wide receiver Kendall Hinton — who was slated to be the starter before being suspended for the first three games — against the Wolfpack on Thursday.
Wake ranks sixth in the ACC in scoring offense at 32.3 points per game.
