Michigan is hiring Mike Hart, the best Wolverines rusher ever, as a running back trainer, the school announced on Wednesday.
Hart set Michigan records for race yards (5,040 yards) and loads (1,015) and scored 41 race touchdowns as a four-year holder. He won the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2004 and was three times the All-Big Ten’s first selection. He was also a two-time finalist for the Doak Walker Award and finished fifth in the 2006 Heisman Trophy vote. Hart set a team record with 28 games with 100 or more running yards.
“Michigan has always had a special place in my heart,” said Hart in a statement. “It is a place that has always believed in me and that I have always believed in. I am excited to join Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan team and can’t wait to start working with a talented group of running back.”
Hart, 34, has spent the past four years training running backs in Indiana.
A choice for the sixth round of the Indianapolis Colts in 2008, Hart played three seasons in the NFL before joining Eastern Michigan as a coach. He later trained running backs in Western Michigan and Syracuse before joining the Indiana team in 2017. The Hoosiers promoted Hart to associate head coach in 2020.
Michigan last week announced a new four-year contract for Harbaugh, who is 49-22 years old in six seasons, but was 2-4 in 2020.