The obvious question: Who is Mitch Griffis? The obvious answer: Who was Sam Hartman?

“Personality-wise, we’re a little different,” says Griffis, the new quarterback at Wake Forest. “I would say I’m a little bit more relaxed and goofier.”

There you have it. The new quarterback taking over for the old quarterback — who set the ACC passing TD record along with nearly every school passing mark — is a goofball.

Griffis was also a nobody recruit, just like Hartman. An undersized overachiever, just like you know who.

So forget about the narrative that Wake Forest won’t survive without Hartman, who left the Deacons at the end of last season and transferred to Notre Dame. Focus more on the reality that these 2 quarterbacks are a lot more alike than you think.

Other than Hartman’s 114 career TD passes — an ACC-record 110 of which came at Wake.

“Tough guys with high football IQs,” says Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson — a tough guy with a high football IQ.

See where this is headed?

The drop-off from Hartman to Griffis won’t be as drastic as you think because the 2 guys who make it all work at Wake Forest are still around: Clawson and offensive coordinator/QB coach Warren Ruggiero. They’ve meticulously built and rebuilt, and tweaked and retweaked, the slow mesh offense to fit perfectly with the Deacons’ personnel.

And blue-chip recruits aren’t flocking to Winston-Salem, if you know what I mean.

Hartman was a 3-star recruit in 2018, the 21st-ranked pro style quarterback in high school from the 247Sports composite — just behind a guy name Spencer Petras, who finished his 5-year Iowa career with 90 fewer TD passes than Hartman.

Griffis was a 3-star recruit in 2020, the 19th-ranked pro style quarterback — just behind a guy named Jalen Suggs, who now plays basketball for the Orlando Magic.

There’s nothing unique about this process from Clawson and Ruggiero, about the handoff from Hartman to Griffis. It’s not finding hidden gems and unleashing them on unsuspecting defenses. It’s work.

It’s long hours of practice and film session, and dissecting defenses and finding strengths and weaknesses and what puts specific defenses in conflict and what doesn’t. There’s no such thing as physically and athletically imposing your will on opponents when Wake Forest’s highest-ranked recruit in 10 years under Clawson was wide receiver Donovan Greene in 2019.

Greene was the No. 128th-ranked player overall, and 1 of only 4 players under Clawson who have been ranked nationally. Every other recruit has a national ranking of N/A.

Not applicable.

Until they get to Winston-Salem, and after Clawson and Ruggiero get a hold of them. Some develop into stars and stay awhile, others develop and leave for a shot with a major Power 5 team.

Offense works at Wake Forest — quarterbacks are successful at Wake Forest — because players are developed and play to their ceilings. Hartman isn’t the 1st player to leave Wake Forest, and won’t be the last.

It wasn’t long ago that RB Kenneth Walker III left Wake Forest and became an All-American in 2021 at Michigan State. So Clawson and Ruggiero used Christian Beal-Smith (who later transferred to South Carolina), Justice Ellison and Christian Turner as a 3-pronged attack — and they responded by rushing for 1,650 yards and 19 TDs. Problem solved.

Griffis sat for 3 seasons behind Hartman. He started 1 game last year while Hartman was injured and completed 21-of-29 passes for 288 yards, 3 TDs, no turnovers and won the game.

What makes anyone think Griffis won’t slide right into the starting role without a hiccup?

“He is extremely accurate,” Clawson said. “He has good arm strength. He is athletic. He has really good instincts, great work ethic, super teammate, and he is genuine.”

Understand this: Clawson doesn’t say anything he doesn’t fully believe. He’s not trying to get Griffis mentally ready for the grind, or convince him he’s something he’s not.

If Griffis couldn’t run the offense at the same level as Hartman, then Clawson and Ruggiero would’ve moved to Michael Kern. Or Santino Marucci, or Troy Hoilman.

They’re not in the business of protecting egos. They’re at Wake Forest to win games, despite the inherent obstacles.

They’re developing players, and watching it play out on the field. It just so happens that Hartman was at the most important position on the field longer than most — and got an early boost in 2020 when star QB Jamie Newman (remember him?) left for Georgia but never played a down in the COVID season before leaving for the NFL.

Griffis isn’t a long shot, or a 5-11, 190-pound overachiever, or a feel-good story about a guy getting his chance.

He’s the next guy up. Period.

And it’s time to produce.

“I’ve worked as hard as I can,” Griffis said. “I think I’ve maximized my skills up to this point. But there’s still room for me to get better.”

There’s nothing goofy about that.