Wake Forest Football: Sam Hartman named starting QB

The biggest position battle is over for Wake Forest football as Sam Hartman was named starting quarterback.

The first game of the 2018 season is one week from tonight and the Wake Forest football team knows who their starting quarterback will be when they take the field against Tulane. According to Les Johns of the Demon Deacon Digest, true freshman Sam Hartman has won the job and will be the one tasked to lead this offense.

Hartman was able to beat out redshirt sophomore Jamie Newman, who suffered an injury in the team’s last scrimmage. He was unable to practice on Monday but limited the rest of the week.

This is a drastic difference from what the team had last year with senior John Wolford. He was the team’s starter the past three season and this past year the offense was one of the best in the ACC.

Head coach Dave Clawson was expecting for Kendall Hinton to step in as the team’s quarterback. However, the team suspended him for the first three games of the season for violating team rules.

There has to be some concerns about starting a true freshman at the most important position on the football field. However, Hartman steps into a great opportunity with as many playmakers this offense has to surround him.

At wide receiver, the team has Greg Dortch, Alex Bachman, and explosive redshirt freshman Sage Surratt. While the team will look to running back Matt Colburn to set the tone.

While these players will all help take some pressure off Hartman, it will be the offensive line that will be the group that will benefit the quarterback the most. The Demon Deacons have an excellent offensive line led by left tackle Justin Herron and left guard Phil Haynes, who was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team.

While Hartman has cleared the first big hurdle, he will need to play well to keep the starting job. It will be interesting to see if Clawson tries to work in Newman once healthy or if he will go back to Hinton once the suspension is over.