With the NFL Combine set to kick off in less than a week, more news is being released.

First, the player schedule has been released.

Also, media coverage will be available daily on the NFL’s premium TV channel, NFL Network. This includes on-demand video, workout recaps, interviews and more. [Press Release]

Click here to visit the combine’s webpage on NFL.com. There are overviews of the prospects invited, organized by position. The breakdown and grouping of the running back position can be found here. Mike Hart is part of Group 3 with East Carolina’s Chris Johnson and Central Florida’s Kevin Smith.

And the press coverage continues! This time from the

If you are in the vicinity of Naples, FL, I highly recommend headingon over to Velocity Sport tomorrow to watch Mike participate in a mock NFL combine. He has been working hard down there and would probably love the support. Here’s what you need to know about tomorrow’s events:

WHAT: Mock NFL Combine
WHERE: Velocity Sports; 11965 Collier Blvd., Suite 12
WHEN: 10:00 AM (should last 2 hours)
WHO: Mike Hart, Jamar Adams, Ryan Mundy, Trey Brown, Jacky Claude,Letroy Guion, Williams Hayes

Bonus pictures, from News-Press.com, here

As we all already knew, Mike Hart will be working out at the NFL Scouting Combine later this month.

This is confirmed by the release of the official player invite list on the camp’s website.

The NFL Scouting Combine will take place in Indianapolis, IN from February 20 - 26 with more information to be released in the coming weeks.

Recent press for the College Football All-Star Challenge has stated that it will air at 2PM today. However, after checking my local listings, it appears it will air, in my market, at 4PM (ET) on ESPN. So be sure to check your local listings if you plan on tuning in today.

The ESPN special is 2 hours long and hosted by Mark May, Bob Davie, Rob Stone and Todd McShay.

*Maybe seeing H20 take those 2 challenges will make Todd McShay a believer. But then again — judging from his past statements — probably not.

After sitting out the 2008 Under Armour Senior Bowl in Mobile, AL, last week, Mike has made his way to Arizona for the College Football All-Star Challenge.

The skills challenge, hosted at Arizona State in Tempe, featured many of college football’s top names including Mike’s former Wolverine teammate Chad Henne.

Mike won 2 events during the competition.

You can catch the All-Star Challenge when it airs Saturday on ESPN at 2PM (ET).

*If you happen to miss the airing, you can come back here for a video.

Although he was invited, Mike Hart is not participating in the 2008 Senior Bowl, according to the newly released rosters.

Michigan will be well represented as QB Chad Henne, DB Jamar Adams, and LB Shawn Crable are all playing.

For more information on the game, including practices and weeklong festivities, visit www.seniorbowl.com.

As I touched upon in my previous post, the competition for the upcoming NFL draft, at the running back position, is getting more heated by the day.

And now we can possibly add two more prospects to the tally: 2-time Heisman Trophy runner-up Darren McFadden and Oregon star Jonathon Stewart.

Although there are conflicting reports, multiple sources are maintaining that McFadden will absolutely enter the draft, while his father isn’t so quick to confirm the move.

Still no word from Felix Jones, McFadden’s teammate.

The deadline is Tuesday, so we’ll all know who’s in and who’s out within a few days.

UPDATE (1.13.07): Make that 3 juniors. West Virginia RB Steve Slaton has also thrown his hat into the ring for the draft.

At the close of the regular season, Mike Hart ranked pretty high on various draft boards. That was when the field contained nothing but seniors. Now that the season has come to a close, there have been various declarations from underclassmen. With those, we can expect that NFL teams in need of a tailback will have many quality athletes to choose from.

Noteable Juniors turning pro:
Kevin Smith - UCF
Jamaal Charles - Texas
Ray Rice - Rutgers
Rashard Mendenhall - Illinois

So far, Arkansas RBs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones have remained silent, as has Oregon’s Jonathan Stewart.

More light should be shed on how the NFL-bound running backs stack up within the coming month.

As the 2007 college football season has officially come to a close, here come the final polls.

With Michigan’s impressive win over then-ranked #9 Florida, the Wolverines finish the season ranked #18 in the AP poll and #19 in the Coach’s poll.

It’s a great way for Mike Hart, his senior teammates, and his beloved coach to end their respective Michigan tenures.

They did it! The Michigan Wolverines succeeded in sending their seniors and longtime coach, Lloyd Carr, out with a big win over the Florida Gators in the Capital One Bowl.

Despite turning the ball over 4 times to Florida’s 0, U-M came out on top 41-35.

It was great to see Mike Hart back to 100% healthy and it showed. What was surprising was the 2 times he put the ball on the ground near the goal line. He hadn’t lost a fumble since his freshman year, but he did it twice today. Luckily those turnovers didn’t cost the team the game.

But what can you do in that situation? You can either let it throw you off course or you can and try to move forward and continue to aggressively play the game. That’s exactly what Michigan did and it worked out in their favor.

The Michigan offense easily handled the Gator defense. One can’t help to imagine what may have happened without the 4 turnovers. The game wouldn’t have been close!

I was glad to see H20 close out his collegiate career with a big W. This site will continue to follow Mike Hart as he works towards his goal of competing in the NFL.