Sam Hartman Explained

Sam Hartman
Current Team:Washington Commanders
Number:15
Position:Quarterback
Birth Date:29 July 1999
Birth Place:Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:1
Weight Lb:209
High School:Oceanside Collegiate
Undraftedyear:2024
Pastteams:
Status:Active
Highlights:
  • Brian Piccolo Award (2022)
  • Second-team All-ACC (2021)
  • Third-team All-ACC (2022)
Statlabel1:TD–INT
Statlabel2:Passing yards
Statlabel3:Completion percentage
Statlabel4:Passer rating
Statlabel5:Rushing yards
Statlabel6:Rushing touchdowns
Pfr:HartSa00

Samuel Hartman (born July 29, 1999) is an American professional football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL) and model. He played five seasons of college football for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, setting several school records and finishing as the all-time passing touchdowns leader in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history. He played with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2023 before signing with the Commanders as an undrafted free agent in 2024.

Early life

Hartman was born on July 29, 1999, in Charlotte, North Carolina to Mark Hartman.[1] As a sophomore and junior at Davidson Day School in Davidson, North Carolina, Hartman threw for 6,388 passing yards and 69 touchdowns as a team captain at quarterback, being named first-team all-state as a junior and was given the Charlotte Observer player of the week award four times.[2]

He transferred to Oceanside Collegiate Academy in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, for his senior season and led them to a 7–3 record while throwing for 3,093 yards passing and 29 touchdowns, in addition to nine rushing scores. Hartman was rated the No. 12 pro-style passer in the class of 2018 by 247Sports.com and was a three-star recruit.[3] He was featured in the documentary series for his senior season.[4]

College career

Wake Forest (2018–2022)

See also: Wake Forest Demon Deacons football statistical leaders.

2018 season

See also: 2018 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team.

Hartman accepted a scholarship offer from Wake Forest University to play for the Demon Deacons. He started the season opener against Tulane and was one of five freshman quarterbacks to start the season in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. He was 31-for-51 passing against Tulane, throwing for 378 yards and leading them to a win in overtime. He was the first freshman to start the season-opener as a quarterback in school history. Through the first three games of the season, Hartman led all freshmen in the country for yards of offense and made two or more touchdown passes in each game. He was named ACC Conference rookie of the week following a win on September 29 versus Rice, in which he tied the school record for consecutive completions with 12. He led them to a 4–4 record before suffering an injury against Syracuse that kept him out for the rest of the season.

2019 season

See also: 2019 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team.

After extensive competition throughout the spring and fall camp, Hartman was the backup quarterback as a sophomore in 2019 behind Jamie Newman, only appearing in four games, thus preserving a redshirt for the season. He saw his first action of the season against Louisville on October 12, when he took over in the fourth quarter trailing 38–55. Hartman led them to three-straight scoring drives, as they lost 59–62. He was named starter prior to their next game versus Florida State, and led Wake Forest to a 22–20 victory. He next saw playing time late in the year versus Syracuse, playing from the second to fourth quarters. He threw two passes in the season finale, a loss to Michigan State in the 2019 Pinstripe Bowl.

2020 season

See also: 2020 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team.

He regained a starting position as a redshirt sophomore in 2020, being named team captain and playing in all nine games. Against North Carolina, Hartman compiled 429 passing yards and four touchdown passes in the 53–59 loss. He finished the season ranked 28th nationally with 2,224 passing yards. Due to extensive disruption to college football caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA ruled that the 2020–21 school year would not be counted against the eligibility of any football player.

2021 season

See also: 2021 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team.

In 2021, Hartman led his team to an 8–0 start, the best in school history as Wake Forest reached the ACC Championship game. Where upon Wake Forest got pummeled by 13th ranked Pitt, 45–21, where he threw 4 interceptions. He earned national honors following a game against Army, in which Hartman compiled a career-best 458 passing yards and five touchdowns.[5] He was named the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week, PFN National Offensive Player of the Week,[6] Maxwell Award Player of the Week, and CFPA national performer of the week. He set several Wake Forest single-season records, including 39 touchdown passes and 4,228 passing yards.

2022 season

See also: 2022 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team.

Hartman played 12 games in 2022 and threw for 3,701 yards and 38 touchdowns, earning second-team All-ACC honors.[7] He led them to an overall record of 8–5 and to a win in the Gasparilla Bowl, earning MVP honors in the game and being the first person in school history to win two bowl MVP honors.[8] He was named the winner of the Brian Piccolo Award for the "most courageous" player in the ACC, as Hartman had suffered from Paget–Schroetter disease and had to undergo surgery early in the season, but only missed one game despite the illness.[9] He was a finalist for the Manning Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and a semifinalist for Davey O'Brien Award.

Hartman finished his time at Wake Forest as the record holder for career passing attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns while also having the most touchdown passes (110) and second-most passing yards in conference history (12,967); his total passing yards also ranks top 20 in FBS history. He ranks top three in the ACC for touchdown passes, career completions, passing attempts, and passing yards and also is top-25 all-time in FBS history for touchdown passes and passing yards. Additionally, Hartman holds single-season Wake Forest records for passing touchdowns, yards per game, total yards, total touchdowns, and passing yards, and is the all-time ACC leader with 21 career 300-yard passing games.

Notre Dame (2023)

See also: 2023 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team.

On January 5, 2023, Hartman announced his intent to transfer to Notre Dame.[10] On August 26, 2023, Hartman started his first game for Notre Dame playing against Navy in Dublin, Ireland. He completed 19 of 23 pass attempts for 251 yards and four touchdowns, tying a program record for touchdown passes in a player's debut.[11] Following the season, Hartman opted out of the Sun Bowl in order to begin preparing for the 2024 NFL draft.[12]

Statistics

See also: NCAA Division I FBS total offense leaders.

Season! rowspan="2"
TeamGamesPassingRushing
GP GS Record Comp Att Pct Yards Avg TD Int Rate Att Yards Avg TD
2018Wake Forest994–516129155.31,9846.8168125.21082752.62
2019Wake Forest4 1 1–0 55 97 56.7 830 8.6 4 2 138.1 27 89 3.31
2020Wake Forest994–515927358.2 2,2248.1 135138.7 63 −1 0.0 2
2021Wake Forest141411–329950858.9 4,2288.3 3914148.6 1173643.1 11
2022Wake Forest12 12 7–5 270 428 63.1 3,701 8.6 38 12 159.4 102129 1.3 1
2023Notre Dame12 12 9–3 191 301 63.5 2,689 8.9 24 8 159.5 45 123 2.7 3
Career[13] 60 57 34–20 1,135 1,898 59.8 15,656 8.3 134 49 147.2 462 979 2.1 20

Professional career

right|thumb|Hartman with the Washington Commanders in 2025Hartman signed with the Washington Commanders as an undrafted free agent in 2024.[14] He was also selected by the Birmingham Stallions in the ninth round of the 2024 UFL draft in July.[15] Hartman was waived by the Commanders on August 27, 2024, and joined their practice squad the following day.[16] Hartman was promoted to the active roster on September 7, following an injury to backup Marcus Mariota.[17] He was released from the active roster on October 11, signing with the practice squad the following day.[18]

On January 28, 2025, Hartman signed a reserve/future contract with the Commanders.[19] He was waived on August 26, 2025, and signed with their practice squad the following day.[20] [21] Hartman was promoted to the active roster on December 24, 2025. [22]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brugler . Dane . The Beast: 2024 NFL Draft Guide . https://web.archive.org/web/20240411212702/https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2024/04/11162958/TheBeast2024_MasterFile-8.pdf . dead . April 11, 2024 . subscription . April 14, 2024 . . 14.
  2. Web site: Sam Hartman – Football . Wake Forest University Athletics.
  3. Web site: Sam Hartman, Wake Forest, Quarterback . 247Sports.com.
  4. Web site: Poff, Zack . May 21, 2020 . Where are they now? Quarterbacks from 'QB1: Beyond the Lights' on Netflix . MaxPreps.com.
  5. Web site: October 26, 2021 . Hartman Adds to National Honors after Career Performance at Army . wfmynews2.com.
  6. Web site: College Football Team of the Week: Sam Hartman destroys an Army . Pro Football Network . October 24, 2021 . July 28, 2024.
  7. Driskell, Bryan . August 13, 2023 . Sam Hartman Named The No. 2 Newcomer In College Football . Sports Illustrated.
  8. Web site: December 23, 2022 . Hartman leads Wake past Missouri 27–17 in Gasparilla Bowl . Associated Press.
  9. News: Dell, John . November 28, 2022 . Wake Forest's Sam Hartman wins ACC's Brian Piccolo Award . Winston-Salem Journal.
  10. Web site: Thamel . Pete . Pete Thamel . January 5, 2023 . Top QB transfer Hartman heading to Notre Dame . January 5, 2023 . ESPN.com . en.
  11. Web site: Murray, Jack . August 26, 2023 . Sam Hartman's Brilliance Has Fans Talking Heisman Trophy After Notre Dame Routs Navy . Bleacher Report.
  12. Web site: Straka . Dean . December 11, 2023 . Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman opts out of Sun Bowl vs. Oregon State to begin prep for 2024 NFL Draft . April 28, 2024 . CBSSports.com . en.
  13. Web site: Sam Hartman . October 12, 2024 . College Football Reference . Sports Reference.
  14. Web site: Smith . Michael David . April 28, 2024 . Commanders sign undrafted QB Sam Hartman with $245,000 guarantee . June 28, 2024 . NBC Sports . en-US.
  15. News: 2024 UFL College Draft: Showboats select Kansas QB Jason Bean with No. 1 pick . FoxSports.com . July 17, 2024 . July 19, 2024.
  16. Web site: August 28, 2024 . Commanders sign 12 players to 2024 practice squad . August 28, 2024 . Commanders.com.
  17. Web site: Keim . John . September 7, 2024 . Commanders place Marcus Mariota on IR, add Sam Hartman . September 7, 2024 . ESPN.
  18. Web site: Smith . Michael David . Commanders sign quarterback Sam Hartman to practice squad . NBC Sports . 2024-10-11 . 2025-08-03.
  19. News: Commanders sign nine players to Reserve/Future contracts. USAToday.com. Ivan. Lambert. January 28, 2025. January 30, 2025.
  20. Web site: Commanders place Sam Cosmi on Reserve/PUP list; release 30 players. Selby, Zach. Commanders.com. August 26, 2025.
  21. Web site: Selby . Zach . Commanders sign 14 players to practice squad . Commanders.com . August 27, 2025 . August 27, 2025.
  22. https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/transactions/_/name/wsh/season/2025