Clemson football: Hartman’s injury changes complexion of ACC race

Almost every day I write about injuries as it relates to Clemson football in some form or fashion, whether real, imagined or anticipated.

Earlier today I mentioned injuries that were starting to creep in during Clemson’s fall practice and, of course, over the summer I wrote about Adam Randall and his recovery from ACL surgery and subsequent return to the field.

This morning it’s an opponent’s injury we’re hearing about as Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman is out indefinitely with a non-football injury.

While the Deacs were placed third in the ACC Atlantic recently by the ACC media, behind Clemson and N.C. State, there’s no doubt they were a well coached, dangerous and capable team.

Not only that, but the Clemson-Wake Forest game is scheduled for Winston-Salem and would be a road tilt for the Tigers.

Wake started last season 8-0 before losing a heartbreaker to North Carolina, getting worked by Clemson and losing to Pittsburgh in the ACC Championship Game.

The Demon Deacons finished the season 11-3 with a Gator Bowl victory over Rutgers.

Wake Forest was expected to be a contender in the ACC Atlantic with Sam Hartman returning at quarterback

Many people saw the Atlantic as a three team race, but with the Deacons having to travel to Tallahassee, Raleigh and Louisville, it was going to be a tough slog for Wake Forest in my opinion and the media hit it right – third in the Atlantic.

Yet, as last years start shows, a well coached team with a star quarterback can win games, especially in a middling-ACC.

That’s all changed – at least for the time being, as it’s hard to imagine Wake being as dangerous without Hartman, who threw for 4,288 yards and 39 touchdowns last season and ran for 11 more.

It’s important to note that the release did not say Hartman was out for the season, but rather “indefinitely” and with the Clemson game 45 days away, no one really knows, or at least they’re not saying at this point, if he could return.

What this really does – assuming nothing changes and Wake Forest is without Hartman – is make the ACC Atlantic a two team race and puts even more emphasis on an October 1 showdown in Death Valley between North Carolina State and Clemson.

From all appearances Hartman is a fantastic young man and I hope he is able to recover and continue his career, whether at Wake or on the next level.