Doane freshman quarterback Sam Hartman was named the GPAC Football Offensive Player of the Week for the week of November 11-17, the conference announced this week.

Hauff Mid-America Sports/ Football Players-of-the-Week

Offense – Sam Hartman, Quarterback (Doane University)
Doane University quarterback Sam Hartman is this week's GPAC/Hauff Mid-America Sports Offensive Player-of-the-Week. Hartman, a freshman from Grand Island, Nebraska, carried the Tigers to a win on Saturday at Mount Marty, orchestrating a 96-yard drive in the final 2:28 to upset the Lancers. He had his hand in all 96 yards as he threw for 81 yards and ran for 15 yards on the final drive. As time expired, Hartman found Andrew Waido for a 12-yard touchdown and on the two-point conversion attempt he connected with James Miles III while being tackled. He finished the game with 257 yards passing on 14 completions with three touchdowns and added 57 rushing yards to lead the ground game.

Even more impressive than the award itself is the significance of it: Hartman is the second Doane football player (Kelen Meyer) to earn a weekly award from the GPAC this season, but he's the first Tiger to be named Offensive Player of the Week since 2021, and the first Tiger quarterback to win an award since 2017. 

"Quarterback was a huge point of emphasis in recruiting, Sam and a number of guys competed for the job, and he earned the job, and he continued to get better throughout the season," head coach Jonathan Johnson said. "What he did at the end speaks to work he's put in, and it speaks to the work the coaching staff has put in to develop him and continue to count on him to get better. And he put us in position, and he executed, and he earned that on Saturday."