Mike Hart

RB · Michigan
A decorated and productive runner in the proud history of the Wolverines, Mike Hart might lack ideal size at tailback, but he's a very powerful, determined runner with a low center of gravity and some elusiveness. Schooled at a high school on an American Indian reservation south of Syracuse, New York, he still holds the national prep scoring record. He etched his name in the Michigan and Big Ten Conference record books during his stellar college career. One of his more remarkable statistics: He went 1,005 rushing attempts between fumbles and became just the fourth player in conference history to rush for over 5,000 yards in a career. The two-time Doak Walker Award finalist (2006 and '07) and two-time Bo Schembechler Award winner (team MVP in 2006 and '07), Hart immediately made his mark at Michigan. He earned All-Big Ten honors three times and was selected the league's Freshman of the Year in 2004. Hart attended Onondaga Central High School, where he was a three-time Class D and C Player of the Year selection, leading the team to three state titles in 2001-03. He was named first-team All-State as a senior, junior and sophomore and added first-team All-Division and Co-Player of the Year for Central New York as a junior. Hart was a first-team All-Division and All-Central New York choice as a freshman and sophomore. Rated the nation's sixth-best back by Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report and listed as the top player in New York and the 12th-best running back in the country by Super Prep. He was rated the second-best prospect in New York, and sixth-best all-purpose back in the nation by Rivals100.com. He also received a four-star prospect rating from MaxEmfingerRecruiting.com. The tailback holds the national high school records for touchdowns in a career (204), most consecutive 100-yard rushing games (47), career 100-yard rushing games (47) and career points (1,246), as he rushed for 11,232 yards on 935 carries in his prep career. He tallied 3,489 yards and 58 touchdowns on 239 carries and 67 total touchdowns as a senior. Hart scored a state-record 61 touchdowns as a junior along with 2,846 rushing yards on 223 carries (12.8 yards per carry). He rushed for 3,341 yards and 51 touchdowns as a sophomore and 1,314 yards and 26 touchdowns on 119 carries -- 11 yards per carry -- as a freshman. He also averaged 10 points and five steals for the varsity basketball team. Hart enrolled at Michigan in 2004, where he became only the third true freshman to lead the Big Ten in rushing with 1,455 yards and nine touchdowns on 282 carries (5.2-yard average) to earn league Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American first-team honors. He was selected All-American third-team by College Football News, as he added 237 yards and a score on 26 receptions (9.1 avg). His per-game rushing average of 121.2 yards ranked 10th in the nation. In 2005, Hart started all eight games in which he played. A hamstring strain sidelined him vs. Eastern Michigan and Wisconsin while an ankle sprain forced him to sit out the Indiana and Northwestern clashes. He still led the team with 662 yards on 150 attempts (4.4-yard average) and four touchdowns. He snared 16 passes for 154 yards (9.6 avg) and a score, as he also recorded one solo tackle. Fully recovered, Hart returned to the nation's elite in 2006. He ranked ninth in the country in rushing, totaling 1,562 yards with 14 touchdowns on 318 carries (4.9-yard average). He finished fifth on the team with 17 receptions for 125 yards (7.4 avg) and scored 86 points. For that performance, he garnered consensus All-American and All-Big Ten Conference first-team honors. He finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy balloting and shared the Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player Award with linebacker David Harris. Despite missing four full games and parts of two others during the 2007 season, Hart was a second-team All-American and Doak Walker Award finalist. He led the Big Ten in rushing and ranked fourth in the league in all-purpose yards. He touched the ball 265 times for 1,361 yards (5.1-yard average) and 14 touchdowns. He scored 84 points and caught eight passes for 50 yards (6.2) to pile up 1,411 all-purpose yards. In 43 games at Michigan, Hart started 39 times. He became the fourth player in Big Ten Conference history to gain over 5,000 yards rushing in a career. He set the school all-time records with 1,015 carries for 5,040 yards (4.97-yard average) and finished third in UM history with 41 rushing touchdowns. He caught 67 passes for 566 yards (8.4 avg) and a pair of scores, finishing with 262 points. He touched the ball a school-record 1,082 times and ranks fifth at U-M with 5,606 all-purpose yards, an average of 130.37 yards per game.