Since the Capital One Bowl is nearly upon us, I thought I’d share my favorite on-the-field Mike Hart moment of the 2007 season. I had a lot to choose from, but this one just stood out from the Purdue game. I hope to see more moves like this during the game!

Mike Hart was a guest on Jim Rome’s Radio show this afternoon. You can download listen to the interview on Rome’s website for a nominal fee. Nothing’s free anymore, ya know.

INTERVIEWED BY JUNGLE GUEST HOSTS: Jason and Randy Sklar
INFO & STATS: Running Back Michigan Wolverines / Team Captain.
TOPICS: Preparing for the Capital One Bowl / Staying focused during coaching and staffing change / Preparing to face the opposition / Guarantee win statement against Notre Dame / Thoughts with departure of Coach Carr / Rich Rodriguez’ becoming the new head coach of Michigan. / 12-27-2007

During a pre-bowl media session, Mike Hart’s teammate and close friend, Jamar Adams, went a little beyond the staple injury update and voiced his thoughts on how he felt Mike’s injuries affected him this season.

From Toledo Blade:

“It was frustrating because he couldn’t do some of the things he wanted to do physically. I was frustrated as well. I thought Mike had a great chance of catching some of the awards that were out there.”

Considering how Mike fought through injuries and still put up a 1200+ yard rushing season, it’s hard to not imagine how many more yards, touchdowns, and records he may have taken down had he been able to stay healthy.

And what about is 2007 Heisman candidacy? After finishing 5th in total voting last season, how can we not think about him being invited to NYC, this year, for the ceremony and possibly picking up College Football’s most prestigious award?

Its nice to think about what might have been, but what ifs don’t count. The team, which arrived in Orlando yesterday, and held their first practice today, is focused on the task at hand: beating Florida on Tuesday. If Mike looks as good, during the game, as he’s said to be during practices, I think we’ll all be in for a treat!

BONUS: Listen to U-M players as they preview the bowl matchup

Wolverines offense still a threat

The emphasis of this particular preview segment is how the Wolverine offense matches up against the young Florida defense.

Well maybe that’s not entirely accurate, but from his most recent mock draft, it seems that Mr. McShay might need a little convincing of Mike Hart’s ability to succeed at the next level.

His argument for why he feels Mike will be selected late second to third round is not original. Actually, it’s pretty played out.

He’s too slow

He’s too small

He was good at the college level, but he won’t be effective in the NFL

These are all the same arguments the analysts stated repeatedly back when Mike was a college recruit. For the last statement, simply switch out the college/NFL, replace it with high school/college, and you have the reasons why Mike would not be a successful collegiate back. We all saw how that turned out.

It humors me that these so-called experts are once again sleeping on Mike Hart. At the same time, I’m not surprised. Mike’s been making others look foolish for years now and I don’t see that trend ending any time soon. All of the teams with RB needs, that pass on him, will have mud slung at their organizations once Mike starts torching their defensive lines. I, for one, cannot wait!

Below is the video segment from College Football Live (Dec. 18) where McShay informs us that Mike is the #6 running back on his board. Whatever dude.

* If video isn’t appearing, it’s because the site is switching servers and the DNS has propogated yet. Sit tight!