Mike Hart, 2008 NFL Draft Prospect

Running Back Senior 5' 9" 200 Lbs. 40 yard dash: 4.52 Strengths: Vision, Quickness, Blocking, Ball Security, Experienced Weakness: Small, straight-line speed, history of leg injuries University of Michigan

By: John L. Clarke

The 2008 NFL Draft is going to have a great running back class coming in.  One of the many standouts, is Leon Michael Hart from the University of Michigan.  Mike, as most people refer to him as, has started since his freshman year, and looks to have a phenomenal senior year.  With most of the offense returning, including massive offensive tackle Jake Long, Hart should continue his dominance over Big Ten opponents, as he did his freshman and junior years, respectively.

During his breakout freshman year, Hart rushed for 1,455, nine touchdowns and had 26 receptions for 237 yards and a touchdown catch.  He was voted to the Big 10 All Conference First Team as well as Big 10 Freshman of the Year.  His sophomore year was his only down year, as he suffered the whole season with a hamstring injury.  He still managed to gain almost 700 yards on only 150 carries (about 4.4 yards per carry) and 4 touchdowns.

He bounced back from his injury plagued second season to rush for an amazing 1,562 yards, the fifth-best season total in Michigan history, and 14 touchdowns.  After amassing that total, he was a finalist for both the Doak Walker and Heisman trophies as well as being voted once again to the All Big 10 First Team Offense.

The 2008 NFL Draft is going to be an interesting one for Hart.  Although shorter running backs are starting to catch on throughout the NFL (much like shorter receivers in the past few years), this year’s running back class is amazing.  Darren McFadden, Ray Rice and Steve Slaton are the Top 3 ranked Running Backs, but Hart could supplant at least one of them as the season progresses.  If he does, he could go as early as the mid-first round.

Hart’s biggest attributes are his vision, cutting ability and toughness.  He can see and react to holes very quickly and does not have to change his speed to move laterally.  His ankles seem to be made of rubber bands as he tends to cut on a dime.  Although injured most of his sophomore year, he is a durable/reliable back.  In fact he has only fumbled once in 809 total carries, which is amazing enough, but factor in that he was a true freshman and it makes him that much more dependable.  With a stellar offensive line, a 4^th year starter in quarterback Chad Henne and deep threat Mario Manningham, defenses will be unable to stack the line to stop him. Look for Hart to finish as he did last year, a finalist for every major running back/offensive award available

UPDATE:

Hart had an up and down senior year.  He had an ankle sprain that he suffered throughout the season that he played through, mostly effectively.  He guaranteed a victory at Notre Dame and also correctly predicted that he would carry the ball most of the game when starter Chad Henne went down with an injury before Penn State (44 car. for 153 yards).  It is a shame that one of his best qualities, not fumbling, has turned into a small issue due to the Capital One Bowl Game vs. Florida.  Before the game, he had only one lost fumble, during his freshman year, until his 2 inside the red zone during the game.

He is in the 2^nd tier of running backs that are entering the 2008 NFL Draft behind front runners Darren McFadden, Jonathan Stewart and Rashard Mendenhall.  I look for him to fight for draft supremacy with the likes of Felix Jones, Kevin Smith and Jamaal Charles in the 2^nd and 3^rd rounds.

He still is an excellent running back.  More quick than fast, he is excellent in pass protection, usually one of the most under developed pieces of a young running back’s game.  He has average hands, and did not get the ball thrown to him a lot, probably due to his blocking skills or the threat of the draw.

Look for teams like the Broncos, Bears or Chiefs could use his vision for zone blocking cuts and leadership in the backfield while getting him somewhere in 2^nd round.

MIKE HART CAREER STATS:

MIKE HART CAREER AWARDS:

2004

·         1^st Team Big 10 ALL-CONFERENCE

·         Big 10 Conference Freshman of the Year

·         Big 10 Offensive Freshman of the Year

·         ALL-AMERICAN Honorable Mention by SI.com

·         3^rd Team ALL-AMERICAN by Collegefootballnews.com

·         1^st Team Freshman ALL-AMERICAN by Rivals.com

2005

·         3^rd Team Pre-Season ALL-AMERICAN

·         Pre-Season Heisman Watch List

·         Walter Camp Player of the Year "Watch List"

·         U-M Athletic Academic Achievement (Team Award)

2006

·         Walter Camp Player of the Year "Watch List"

·         Big Blue Offensive MVP (Team Award)

·         1^st Team Big 10 ALL-CONFERENCE

·         5^th place finish for the HEISMAN TROPHY

·         Finalist for the DOAK WALKER AWARD

·         Semi-Finalist for MAXWELL AWARD

·         1^st Team ALL-AMERICAN by Rivals.com

·         1^st Team ALL_AMERICAN by CollegeFootballNews.com

·         2^nd Team ALL-AMERICAN by Walter Camp Football Foundation

·         2^nd Team ALL-AMERICAN by Associated Press

·          ALL-AMERICAN Honorable Mention by SI.com

2007

·         2^nd Team Big 10 ALL-CONFERENCE

·         Pre-Season Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year

·         Big Blue MVP (Team Award)

·         2^nd Team ALL-AMERICAN by Associated Press

·         2^nd Team ALL-AMERICAN by Walter Camp

·         AL-AMERICAN Honorable Mention by SI.com