Take a quick glance at the record of last year's Duke football team, and one could assume that the season was a total wash.
However, senior tight end Mike Hart might take exception to that assumption. Playing on a team with an often anemic passing attack, Hart managed to earn second-team All-ACC honors at his position, tying for the team lead with 31 catches and owning a team-best 540 receiving yards.
Hart was pleased with his performance during the 2000 campaign, but his goal is not to win individual accolades; rather, it is success for his struggling football squad.
"It's nice to see your name written and hear it on TV, that's nice reassurance," Hart said. "But I'm just playing for myself and my team."
One of the most obvious assets that Hart brings to the team, aside from his on-the-field contributions, is his status as a leader among his teammates. Duke coach Carl Franks was quick to express that Hart is one of the team's most integral, vocal leaders on the gridiron.
"Mike provides leadership for us on and off the field," Franks said. "He knows that when you do something good, you should be happy, but that there's another play coming. On the other hand, he also knows that when something bad happens, sometimes you've got to just forget about it and focus on the next play."
While Hart knows that he sometimes needs to provide leadership simply by making catches and advancing his team, he fully understands that his job is not all glamor. He stated that one of the things he worked on the most during spring and summer practice was improving his strength and his blocking skills. Hart has added close to 20 pounds to his frame for this season.
Franks has been impressed with Hart's continued desire to improve.
"He's really improved his blocking," the third-year coach said. "We're looking for a big year from him, doing that and catching the football."
The times that Mike Hart gets noticed most are often the times when he makes a catch and contributes points or big yardage to his team. However, Hart keeps his focus simply on doing what is asked of him.
"Of course, I like catching the ball. I think even offensive linemen would love to catch the ball every once in a while if they could," he said. "But my most satisfying play is one where I just did my job. Whether it is catching the ball, or making a good block, or whatever, I just want to be able to say, OHey, I did my best.'"
It is that work ethic that sets Hart apart from many of his teammates. Hart characterized himself as a leader by example, not one who must constantly be heard.
"Sometimes I try and say some spirited words to my teammates," he said, "but mostly I just try to shut up and work hard, and I hope the other guys will see me and that they'll all want to work hard too."
All the hard work that Hart has put in over the last four years just may pay off in a big way for him. Many persuasion publications have him projected as a first team All-ACC player, and such accolades certainly do not go unnoticed by the powers-that-be in the NFL.
"I'd love to play in the NFL," Hart said. "I think every kid dreams about playing a professional sport at some point. Now, I really want to pursue that goal, since it is so close."
For now, though, Hart remains focused on the task at hand, the goal of improving the Blue Devil football team and contributing what he can.
"My number one desire right now is to have this team win games," Hart said. "If I play great and we win, I'll feel good about it. But if I don't play well and we still win, then I'll probably feel even better about it, because it means that we're all improving."
This attitude of improving not only himself, but also the people around him, could be the most lasting effect of Hart on Duke's football program. By raising his level of play as high as he can, Hart hopes to help raise the collective strength of Blue Devil football.
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