Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson Didn’t Like Sam Hartman’s Send-Off

Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson Didn’t Like Sam Hartman’s Send-Off

Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Clawson didn’t enjoy the send-off that Notre Dame gave his former quarterback.

The Demon Deacons played Notre Dame last Saturday and Sam Hartman was honored during his final game in South Bend, Ind. Clawson seemed confused as to whether that moment was deserving of a celebration.

Clawson said that Notre Dame “only dated” Hartman, implying that Wake Forest recruited and developed the 24-year-old quarterback.

“Notre Dame bought him and rented him for a year, and now they love him?” Clawson said. “This is where college football is.”

Clawson’s main point is that Hartman had one year of eligibility remaining and decided to chase NIL money at a larger school. The current state of college football is money-driven and smaller programs, such as Wake Forest, will have a tough time retaining talent such as Sam Hartman.

Hartman played five seasons at Wake Forest and set multiple school records during his time there. He also led them to their second ACC championship game appearance in school history. Losing him to the Irish was a gut punch for the school and everyone knows it.

Despite the breakup, Dave Clawson still loves his former quarterback.

“When that video played, it’s just like, ‘Holy cow, this is where college football is,'” Clawson said. “Sam and I had a great discussion before the game and after the game, and I love the young man. I really do. I don’t blame him at all for what he did. That’s the system now. For him to have the opportunity to have that experience and make that type of money in one year, who can fault him?”

Who can fault him? An opportunity to start at a prestigious program and make a lot of money is something almost no one would pass up on. As I mentioned earlier, NIL makes it more difficult for small programs to retain players that they turned into stars.

“That’s reality, and there’s no point in complaining about it,” Clawson said. “Here’s a guy that we recruited and we developed. They’re putting a video on him saying, ‘We will always love you.’ Like, you only dated him for a couple of months. It can’t be love. We’re the ones that love him. We had five years with him. You rented him for a season.”

Although it seems like Clawson is mad about his quarterback’s departure, he is correct. Players will chase the money when it is presented to them and programs that can’t compete will be left in the dust.

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