Football
- Title:
- Running Backs Coach
Mike Hart is in his third season as running backs coach at the University of Michigan in 2023. He is in his second season as the program's run game coordinator.
The all-time leading rusher in Michigan football history, Hart returned to Ann Arbor after four years coaching running backs at Indiana University (2017-20). He was elevated to associate head coach for the Hoosiers in 2020 after serving as an assistant coach during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
In both of his seasons with the Wolverines, Hart has guided the Wolverine rushing attack to a top-15 national rank and the No. 1 rank in the Big Ten, including finishing the 2022 season ranked No. 5 nationally (238.9 yards per game). U-M has eclipsed 3,000 yards on the ground in both seasons with 39 touchdowns in 2021 (No. 1, NCAA) and 41 in 2022 (No. 2).
Blake Corum finished seventh in the 2022 Heisman Trophy voting, won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's MVP, and was named the Ameche-Dayne Big Ten Running Back of the Year as well as a Doak Walker Award finalist after rushing for 1,463 yards with 19 total touchdowns in 12 games. Hart has coached two Wolverines to first-team All-Big Ten honors in Corum (2022) and Hassan Haskins (2021); both backs had at least 1,200 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns. Haskins scored a Michigan-record 20 rushing touchdowns and totaled 169 yards and five touchdowns in the 2021 win over Ohio State, becoming the first-ever player to score five times on the Buckeyes. Hart also oversaw Corum earning third-team all-league honors in 2021 and the promising sophomore season from Donovan Edwards in 2022 (991 yards and No. 3 NCAA yards per carry).
In his 10 seasons coaching prior to Michigan, Hart tutored four 1,000-yard rushers, two Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year recipients and the 2014 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, Jarvion Franklin. As a member of the Indiana coaching staff, Hart was a 2018 Broyles Award nominee and received recognition as a Top 25 recruiter by Rivals.com for his work on the 2019 signing class.
Hart was instrumental in the development of Indiana’s running game, with the program gaining 1,888 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns in 2018. IU followed up by producing 1,695 yards and 24 TDs in 2019. The Hoosiers gained 869 yards and scored 12 TDs during the shortened 2020 campaign.
Hart developed Stevie Scott into an all-conference performer with the tailback earning second-team All-Big Ten accolades the past two seasons (2019-20) after collecting honorable mention honors as a freshman. Scott set Indiana’s true freshman rushing record with 1,137 yards on 228 attempts and 10 rushing touchdowns in 2018. He had six 100-yard rushing games as a freshman and became the 19th Hoosier to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark.
In 2020, Scott gained 561 rushing yards and scored 10 touchdowns in eight contests. He became the 14th Hoosier running back to surpass 2,000 career yards (2,543 yards) and is currently fourth in IU history with 30 rushing TDs.
Hart returned to his home state as the running backs coach at Syracuse University for the 2016 season before accepting the running backs post at Indiana.
He spent two seasons in Kalamazoo (2014-15), helping Western Michigan earn consecutive bowl bids for the first time in school history in the 2015 Bahamas Bowl and 2014 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Hart coached a pair of Broncos’ running backs to MAC Freshman of the Year honors after 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Jamauri Bogan rushed for 1,051 yards and was second in the league with 16 TDs in 2015.
Jarvion Franklin gained 1,551 yards, the second-highest total by a freshman, and set WMU single-season records for points (150) and rushing TDs (24) in 2014. Franklin was also named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and earned USA Today Freshman All-American honors.
Hart began his coaching career at Eastern Michigan, serving as an offensive quality control coach during the 2011 season before being elevated to running backs coach for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Under Hart’s tutelage, the 2013 ground game racked up 1,896 yards after gaining 1,960 yards in 2012. Bronson Hill eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in 2013 to finish 31st-nationally and earn third-team All-MAC honors.
Hart was a four-year starter at running back for the Wolverines (2004-07), and set the school record with 5,040 yards on 1,015 carries and 41 rushing touchdowns. He holds the Michigan record with 28 career 100-yard rushing games and his 117.2 rushing yards per contest is tops in school history. As a receiver, Hart added 67 receptions for 566 yards and scored two TDs.
A two-time Doak Walker Award finalist, Hart finished fifth in the 2006 Heisman Trophy balloting. He was a three-time All-Big Ten first team selection and was named the 2004 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Hart shared the Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player Award in 2006 and received the honor again in 2007.
After graduating from Michigan in 2009, Hart was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played three seasons for the Colts, primarily in a back-up role, carrying the ball 71 times for 264 yards and two TDs in 21 games. He was a member of the Colts’ Super Bowl XLIV team and had two carries in the loss to the New Orleans Saints.
A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Hart attended Onondaga Central High School. He set the national high school career record with 204 rushing touchdowns and finished second with 11,045 rushing yards. Onondaga Central compiled a 46-1 record and won three state championships during Hart’s career.
Hart and his wife, Monique, have three children.
THE HART FILE
Full Name: Michael Hart
Birthdate: April 9, 1986
Hometown: Syracuse, N.Y.
High School: Onondaga Central
College: University of Michigan, 2009 (general studies)
COACHING EXPERIENCE
| Season | School/Team | Title/Position Coached |
| 2011 | Eastern Michigan | Offensive Quality Control |
| 2012-13 | Eastern Michigan | Running Backs |
| 2014-15 | Western Michigan | Running Backs |
| 2016 | Syracuse | Running Backs |
| 2017 | Indiana | Running Backs |
| 2018-19 | Indiana | Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs |
| 2020 | Indiana | Associate Head Coach/Running Backs |
| 2021- | Michigan | Running Backs |
