Although 2011 is generally considered a weak year for offensive linemen in the state of Florida, there is an emerging star in Fort Lauderdale at a school famous for producing linemen who go on to play at top Division I programs. This year the buzz at St. Thomas Aquinas figures to center around Bobby Hart (6-4, 283), whose dominant performance at last week’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl combine in San Antonio figures to generate plenty of offer sheets in the weeks to come.
Hart was already picking up some recruiting steam before the combine but what he did at the Alamodome could very well push his name up there among the elite recruits, not just in the state of Florida but nationally.
“All that hard work is paying of … finally!” Hart explained last Friday after his big day in Texas. “My sophomore year, I wasn’t getting a lot of playing time. This past year I switched to offensive tackle [from the defensive line] and it was a great transition.”
Already quite a few offers have come Hart’s way since the beginning of September and there is another team high on his list that should be sending the paperwork in the very near future.
“South Carolina, Duke, Florida State, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Maryland …,” he said reeling off some of his offers. “And, hopefully a Florida offer is coming soon.” He made it a point to let it be known that he is currently “wide open” regarding a possible college decision but he sounded excited about the possibility that the Gators will be offering.
“I talked to Coach (Zach) Azzanni just the other day,” Hart said of Florida’s new wide receivers coach, who has taken over Billy Gonzales’ old stomping grounds in South Florida. “He said [an offer] should be on its way very soon.”
An offer from Florida along with offers from a bunch of other schools will probably find its way to Hart’s doorstep by priority mail after the way he took care of some of the nation’s best defensive linemen in San Antonio.
“It was great competition, going up against the best in the nation,” Hart said. “Anthony Chickillo [Tampa Alonso] was one of the real good ones I competed against on Friday. We against each other three times [in one-on-one drills]. He beat me once, but I got him back twice.”
Hart also had the opportunity to talk with James Wilder, who many ranked as the top performer in San Antonio. Hart joked that after Wilder watched him compete in drills, he started to do a little bit of recruiting himself.
“[Wilder] was clowning with me about coming up to Plant to block for him,” Hart said with a laugh. “I told him, ‘meet me in the state championship next year.’ He’s a great athlete –– running back, wide receiver, D-Line … he can do it all.”
While in San Antonio, Hart could typically be found alongside his good friend — also a top performer at the combine — Wayne Lyons (Fort Lauderdale, FL Dillard), who emerged as the top safety prospect.
“We’ve played against each other in basketball, since real big rivals, so I’ve known him for a long time,” Hart said of his friendship with Lyons.
In addition to competing in basketball, Hart has also wrestled at a high level during his time at Cardinal Gibbons before he transferred to Aquinas. Hart figures to play on national television at least a couple of times next fall and it’s likely he will be selected to play in one of the top high school all-star games next January. Hart wanted to stay and watch the game in San Antonio last Saturday but he had to hope a plane for Florida.
“I was suppose to be down on the field with my boy Wayne (Lyons) at halftime to announce that we’re playing in next year’s Army (game), but my plane left at two o’clock on Saturday,” Hart said with a slight hint of disappointment in his voice.
But there are no worries today for Bobby Hart. He is hard at work towards next year, and earning a starting spot on an always strong offensive line at St. Thomas Aquinas. In all likelihood, he will have a choice next year as it relates to all-star games, and so goes the spoils to those who work hard enough for it.