The most widely known member of the inaugural Hall of Fame class, Sam Hartman didn’t get to spend as much time at OCA as the other inductees, but he certainly left a mark on the football program. After enrolling at Oceanside following three years at Davidson Day in North Carolina.
Hartman was already an established football standout when he arrived at Oceanside. Over two seasons and 21 games as the Davidson Day quarterback, he threw for 6,388 yards and 69 touchdowns, earning a national player of the week award from USA Football and MaxPreps. He threw seven touchdown passes in a game twice as a junior and had a season-high 568 yards passing in one game. He ranked second in North Carolina in passing yards and was 29
th in the nation in TD passes.
During his lone season for the Landsharks, he threw for 3,093 yards over 10 games with another 29 touchdown passes. He finished sixth in South Carolina in passing yards. He went on from there to earn MVP honors at the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas, throwing for 218 yards and two touchdowns in that game.
“Oceanside prepared me for life- learning how to use time management skills while balancing work and sports,” Hartman said. “Always proud to say I am an Oceanside alum.”
Following his one season at OCA, Hartman enrolled early at Wake Forest University where he proceeded to smash records over five seasons, including a redshirt campaign in 2019 during which he saw action in just four games. Over his career for the Demon Deacons, Hartman passed for 12,967 yards and 110 touchdowns, both ACC career records over 48 games.
His many awards and recognitions at Wake Forest included:
- Brian Piccolo Award Winner (2022)
- Gasparilla Bowl MVP (2022)
- Manning Award Finalist (2022)
- Jason Witten Man of the Year Semifinalist (2022)
- Davey O’Brien Award Semifinalist (2021 & 2022)
- Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Top 10 (2022)
- Gator Bowl MVP (2021)
- Maxwell Award Semifinalist (2021)
- All-ACC Academic Team (2021)
- All-ACC (2021 & 2022)
- Numerous Player of the Week, including being named ACC QB of the Week four times
After completing his degree in Communications from Wake, Hartman still had one year of eligibility remaining. He chose to play that season as a graduate student at the University of Notre Dame. All he did that season for the Fighting Irish was earn team MVP honors by passing for 2.689 yards and 24 touchdowns to finish fifth (at the time) in career passing yards in the FBS with 15,656 yards. His 134 career touchdown passes ranks fourth behind Dillon Gabriel, Case Keenum and Kellen Moore.
He led the Irish to a 9-3 record in 2023 and a berth in the Sun Bowl against Oregon State. He was again a semifinalist or finalist for the Davey O’Brien, Johnny Unitas and Jason Whitten Awards, earned MVP honors for his performance against the U.S. Naval Academy in the season-opening Aer Lingus Classic by throwing for 251 yards and four touchdowns.
After going undrafted by the NFL, Hartman signed a free agent contract with the Washington Commanders. He has spent the last two seasons on the Commanders’ practice squad and has not yet seen action in a regular season game.
Outside of football, Hartman is the primary brand ambassador for UK-based men’s grooming brand Slick Gorilla. While in college he secured NIL deals with Google, Under Armour, Beats by Dre, Dove, Dollar Shave Club, Bojangles, Wahl Grooming and others.
Hartman’s parents are Dr. Mark and Lisa Hartman, and he has an older brother, Joe, who played college basketball at Haverford College from 2016-20.
