Hart Off the Board

Mike Hart joins the group of 2nd-day Michigan draftees who get to laugh at the 1st-day draftees stuck in Miami. Hart was selected in the 6th round (36, 202 overall) by the Indianapolis Colts, and this may be the best possible situation for Hart. Hart gets to run behind a very good offensive line on a team who wins based on cerebral prominence, and he backs up a very consistent runner in Joseph Addai, while still getting ample opportunities given the amount of games in which the Colts run up the score early. With that having been said, take a look at what ESPN Scouts Inc. had to say about Hart:

"At one time he was a first-round prospect, but he dropped due to pre-draft workouts. He is a natural runner who displays great patience setting up his blocks. He is very slippery and is able to break arm tackles. But he is very undersized, lacks top-end speed and shows an inability to be very helpful in pass-protection."

That must be a joke... or it must be written by someone who simply never watched Hart play. First of all, Hart is slippery? Sure, he bounces off of tackles and is hard to bring down, but that's because he's strong. I've never seen Mike Hart shy away from a hit. That might be nit-picky, but the last portion of this blurb about Hart is simply absurd. Mike Hart is not "helpful in pass-protection"?!? Hart is an intelligent blocker who always impedes pass rushers, even if that means sacrificing his own body. I feel like so much of this draft was based around the Michigan-Ohio St. game, in which Michigan had to deal with playing the Buckeyes after a loss without Henne or Hart at full-strength. Was Vernon Gholston seriously worthy of the #6 overall selection because he came out to play against Michigan and beat Jake Long once? Watch his highlight reel on ESPN... over half of the clips are from that one game. In that game, Hart was beaten by Gholston a few times, and all of a sudden Hart is not "very helpful in pass-protection." Something is wrong here.

Adrian Arrington, the last Wolverine we expect to be taken, is still on the board. Serves him right for leaving the family behind. Jamar Adams is also a possible draftee, but I expect him to be a free agent acquisition after the draft.