The quarterback-rich ACC just got a little richer on Tuesday, or, more specifically, healthier.

Wake Forest star quarterback Sam Hartman has been medically cleared to play Saturday for the No. 23 Demon Deacons at Vanderbilt after receiving treatment for a blood clot, the school announced. The 23-year-old fifth-year junior had been out since August and will make his first start of the season.

Hartman, who was second team All-ACC last season after throwing for 39 touchdowns and rushing for another 11, had initially been declared as out indefinitely due to what was described at the time only as a non-football medical issue. The school also said that he’d recently completed a “comprehensive series of medical evaluations” and had “progressed appropriately.”

Demon Deacons head coach Dave Clawson added that Hartman had also been throwing and practiced both on Sunday and Tuesday.

“He’s in shape,” Clawson told reporters during his weekly news conference. “He wasn’t completely idle during this time. He’s been throwing the ball for awhile. I mean, there’s just so many accumulated reps. And he got right back on the bike. He’s looked really good, and if we had concerns about that, we wouldn’t be starting him.”

Hartman led Wake Forest to an 11-win season last year, which included the Atlantic Division title and a 38-10 Gator Bowl win over Rutgers. He is also just one of 16 Power 5 quarterbacks in history to have posted a 50-touchdown season.

Back on Aug, 10, however, the school said Hartman had sought medical attention after a workout. Clawson said back then that Hartman underwent a procedure and would return at some point this season.

Hartman, who started as a freshman in 2018 before being injured and eventually regaining the starting job in 2020, is Wake Forest’s all-time leader in touchdown passes with 72. Last season, he threw for a school-record 4,228 yards and the Demon Deacons matched the school record for most victories in a season.

Wake Forest — considered among the contenders for the ACC title this season behind preseason favorite Clemson — opened its season with a 44-10 victory over Virginia Military Institute last week. Mitch Griffis started at quarterback, completing 21 of 29 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns.