Wake Forest starting quarterback Sam Hartman out for the season

Wake Forest has been killed by injuries this season, which goes a long way toward explaining why the Deacs have fallen off so badly. The latest is the worst of it for them—starting quarterback is done for the rest of the year after suffering a leg injury during the team’s loss to Syracuse on Saturday.

Les Johns of Demon Deacon Digest had the scoop:

Hartman set a Wake Forest program freshman record with 16 passing touchdowns this season, but fell just short of passing John Wolford’s true freshman passing yard mark of 2,037. The Davidson Day/Oceanside Collegiate Academy product finished the year 161-for-291 passing, for 1,984 yards. He was picked off eight times, five coming in the first three contest of the season.

Hartman accounts for 291 of Wake Forest’s 316 pass attempts this season. With his promising freshman season cut short, Wake is probably going to turn to sophomore reserve Jamie Newman (Newman!), who is 7-15 for 75 yards and one interception this season. Both Newman and veteran QB Kendall Hinton have been banged up this year.

Wake still has a shot at bowl eligibility despite everything, but it’s gonna be tough for them to take a step forward while making the quick turnaround to Thursday night in Raleigh without their starting quarterback.