“Respectful” Hart lands on his feet after struggle
fort collins » For three seasons at Alabama — one as a redshirt and then two more mainly as a specialteams contributor — Dee Hart wasn’t able to live up to his billing as one of the top national recruits in the high school Class of 2011.
Now, his success as a junior after transferring to Colorado State and rejoining former Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Jim McElwain is one of the heartening stories of rejuvenation in college football this season. Second chances canwork. Hart received his undergraduate degree from Alabama in August and is taking graduate school courses atCSU, and thuswas immediately eligible to play for the Rams.
“The guys just welcomed me with open arms,” Hart saidTuesday. “The first day I came here, it almost felt like home.”
The former Orlando, Fla., high school phenom rushed for 230 yards and scored six times against New Mexico on Saturday. Going into Friday’s game at Air Force, Hart has 1,139 yards on 164 carries for the 10-1 Rams.
Hart said he has heard fromformer Alabama teammates and coaches, including associate head coach/ running backs coach Burton Burns and director of football operations Joe Pannunzio.
“They’re happy for me and (say), ‘Stay healthy and keep playing hard,’ ” he said.
In return, Hart said he remains a Crimson Tide fan.
“I watch every game on Saturday as much as I can,” he said.
How was he able to avoid bitterness over the way things went?
“Being respectful,” he said. “Life doesn’t always go how you plan. It’s how you act in those times of adversity and how you treat people. I think I did a good job of that, especially with the coaches and stuff. I try not to hold grudges.”
Hart conceded that he lost a step after major knee surgery.
“I needed my leg power, but I do think I’m getting it back slowly, but surely,” he said. “I think this year just shows how much I have worked to get it back. I don’twant to limitmyself to what I did this year.”
He has become more of a rugged runner with the Rams, often anticipating a hit and initiating contact.
“I never really ran like that, but I always had the mentality to do so,” he said. “After my knee surgery, I knew I could use it more as
an advantage.”
Footnote.
The Rams, ranked 21st in both The Associated Press media and USA Today/coaches polls this week, remained unranked in the College Football Playoff top 25. League rival Boise State (9-2) was 23rd, andConferenceUSA’s Marshall (11-0) was 24th, the first two teams from non-power conferences to crack the top 25 since East Carolina fell out of the rankings four weeks ago. If CSU beats Air Force on Friday and Boise State loses to Utah State on Saturday night, the Rams would ad- vance to theMountainWest championship game.