The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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44 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2023 BY EJ HOLLAND W ho said Mike Hart couldn't recruit? That was the rhetorical question buzzing around social media following Hart's monumen- tal victory on the recruiting trail, topping chief rival Ohio State for top-100 pros- pect Jordan Marshall from Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller. Landing Marshall, the No. 6 running back and No. 79 overall prospect nation- ally this cycle, per On3, was not only the biggest recruiting win for Hart during his time as running backs coach at Michigan, it was the biggest recruiting win in Ann Arbor in more than a year. Period. Hart has always been capable of land- ing the nation's top ball carriers. After all, he is a living legend. This is Mr. Michi- gan. Perhaps the best back to ever don a winged helmet. One of the best position coaches in the country. An elite developer of talent. A guy that knows what it takes to get to the NFL. Hart checks all the boxes when it comes to being an elite re- cruiter. But the jour- ney to landing Mar- shall was a long one. As a player, Hart had his fair share of major offers but he wasn't necessarily a much ballyhooed p ros p e c t co m i n g into Ann Arbor. Hart was on the shorter side and considered a three-star by the recruiting services. Of course, he went on to exceed expec- tations right away, making an immedi- ate impact as a true freshman. His suc- cess continued throughout his career. He racked up numerous records and honors and accolades during his four years as a starter. In addition to being a three-time first-team All-Big Ten running back, Hart finished as U-M's all-time leading rusher with 5,040 yards on 1,015 carries and 41 touchdowns (fourth). As a coach, Hart has always been able to find diamonds in the rough and turn them into quality backs at the next level. Early on at Michigan, he seemed to take the same approach. It was like he was simply trying to find the next Mike Hart. Two cycles ago, Hart identified three- star running back CJ Stokes and took his pledge early. Last cycle, he did the same with Benjamin Hall, another three-star back. Both Stokes and Hall, like Hart, felt overlooked and had chips on their shoul- ders. Their builds also resembled Hart as a recruit. Stokes and Hall may very well turn out to be great backs at Michigan. But it simply felt like a missed opportunity. Aside from Hart's résumé, Michigan has boasted some of the best backs in the country in Hassan Haskins, Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards as well as the best offensive line in all of college football. Michigan should have been landing elite backs. Instead, Hart appeared to be settling. On top of that, Hart was perceived to be somewhat apathetic on the recruiting trail. He wasn't proactive, hardly men- tioned when it came to area recruiting and didn't get on top-level backs early in the process. With that came plenty of criti- cism — some warranted and some maybe not so much. When Corum and Edwards both went down with injuries last season, it became clear that Michigan's running back room left a lot to be desired. Stokes struggled late in the year, Tavierre Dunlap was a nonfactor, and Michigan was forced to convert Kalel Mullings from linebacker to running back. Perhaps that was the signal to change philosophies. Clearly, Michigan needed to pull an elite talent at the position during the 2024 cycle. Missing on Marshall or fellow top target and elite back Taylor Tatum would be deemed unacceptable. Perhaps it was health related. In early October, Hart suddenly fell backward on the sideline and slipped into a seizure during Michigan's game at In- diana. The moment was scary— he was carted off the field and later stabilized at a Bloomington h o s p i t a l . H a r t 's health is his own business, but it may have taken a toll on him on the recruit- ing trail. W h a t e v e r t h e reason, something sparked a change in Hart. Just a week af- ter the health scare, he was miraculously on the road recruiting. He made the short trip to Dexter (Mich.) High to watch com- mit Cole Cabana, the No. 7-ranked run- ning back nationally per On3, in his team's playoff victory over Saline (Mich.) High. "He told me a while ago he was com- ing," Cabana said. "I expected him to say he was going to skip it and catch a dif- ferent one, but he said, 'No excuses.' It shows how much he cares. It meant a lot. … He's a great person to be around and a great coach. I'm super excited to work with him." A versatile four-star weapon, Cabana was a quality land for Hart. But it wasn't exactly the recruiting win most were looking for. Cabana grew up less than 20 miles from U-M's campus and didn't ❱ FOOTBALL RECRUITING Running backs coach Mike Hart recently secured a commitment for U-M from Jordan Marshall from Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller and is working on Taylor Tatum from Longview (Texas), to complete a pairing of top-10 running backs in the 2024 cycle. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Mr. Michigan Running Backs Coach Mike Hart Helps Drive A Renaissance On The Recruiting Trail