Is Mike Hart “The A-Rod of College Football”?
In an article for Sunday’s Detroit Free Press, Drew Sharp calls Mike Hart “the A-Rod of College Football.”
Could there be a worse analogy?
First, Alex Rodriguez is a player known for his natural ability. If you had to design a baseball player, he would be built to A-Rod’s specifications. He has been destined for stardom from the day he was drafted. Even on a bad year, he can skate on his innate talent and hit 30 HR and drive in 100 RBI.
Mike Hart was an unheralded recruit coming out of high school. He’s 5′6″. He fought his way up the depth chart at Michigan as a freshman based on pure effort. In a sport where big and fast are the two primary attributes, he possesses neither. Every yard he gains is pure unadulterated effort. While A-Rod is the natural talent, Mike Hart is the little man pushing every step of the way.
There is the whole loyalty issue. Mike Hart is Michigan Football. A-Rod plays for whomever will pay him the most money.
Most importantly, Mike Hart is a leader. When Michigan was down after their abysmal season starting losses, it was Mike Hart who put the rest of the team on his back and willed them to five straight victories. It is Mike Hart whom his teammates, coaches, and classmates regard with the ultimate respect. If you were ever in a fox hole, Mike Hart is the guy you would want in there with you.
A-Rod has not displayed an ability to lead. He led Texas to three last place finishes. He was a peripheral figure in the Yankee clubhouse, except, of course, when he was turning it into an Ibsen play. His Texas teammates nicknamed him “the cooler.” There are those who are born to be leaders of men. Alex Rodriguez is not one of them.
One would actually have difficulty finding two more unlike figures. Their only shared attribute is the results. Sharp is correct to point out that neither player has a “signature victory.” A-Rod has neither won nor appeared in the World Series. Mike Hart has never beaten Ohio State and never won a Bowl Game. However, no one has ever accused Mike Hart of being scared.
Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Michigan, Mike Hart, New York Yankees
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14 October 2007 at 9:20 pm
Ty, as a Michigan fan myself, I agree with you 100%.
I gotta correct you on a couple things though.
I know Michigan lists Hart at 5′9″ (which is BS), but there’s also no way he’s 5′6″ as you stated, there just isn’t. 5′6″ running backs don’t get recruited by major D1 programs like Michigan no matter what their high school numbers are.
You also mentioned how he fought his way up the depth chart on pure effort, and that isn’t quite true. When Mike was a freshman, Michigan’s second game of the season was at Notre Dame and backs like Jerome Jackson, David Underwood, Alijah Bradley, and Pierre Rembert were older than him and were slated to get most of the carries that year as Chris Perry had graduated, it was basically running back by committee. If I remember correctly, Underwood and Bradley got hurt in the season opener against Miami (OH), and during that game against the Irish, neither Rembert nor Jackson could get anything at all going on the ground. When Hart came in, he gave them a spark and played well (even though Michigan still lost the game). The next week against San Diego State, Hart ran the ball 25 times for over 100 yards and the rest, as they say, is history. He didn’t necessarily fight his way up the depth chart so much as Lloyd Carr was just looking for some other option to run the ball, I don’t think he anticipated Hart performing as well as he did.
Your point about A-Rod not being a leader like Mike Heart is right on though. As you said, Mike has to fight for every yard he gets and he just carries and carries the football until the defense wears down, while A-Rod can get by on natural talent alone.
14 October 2007 at 9:58 pm
I have seen both Hart and Grady when I was on campus. They are both listed at 5′9″. I am 5′10″. There is no way either of them are 5′9″.
15 October 2007 at 9:13 am
Yeah, Grady may be a little bit stockier than Hart but he’s not 5′9″ either, you’re right. Hopefully Kevin can recover from that knee injury, Michigan is gonna need a feature back next season with Hart gone, I have no confidence at all in Brandon Minor.