Last night, Devin Hart made one of the best decisions in his life by committing to prestigious Columbia University. The 2018 McEachern linebacker also held offers from Pennsylvania, Cornell, Davidson, and Stetson.
Hart said that the academics played a major role in his decision. “That (academics) was one of the reasons for committing. An Ivy League education in one of the most dynamic cities in the world is hard to beat.”
It wasn’t just the academics that sold Hart. Columbia was the first school to offer back on March 29th, and that commitment made by their staff had a lasting impact.
“Columbia really believed in me and was willing to give me the opportunity to have an impact on their program. They were also very supportive of my wanting to pursue an engineering degree. That was important. And the place just felt comfortable to me, as did the relationship with the staff.”
Hart (6’1″ 210 lbs) is an extremely smart student-athlete sporting a 3.9 GPA. He’s not taking any ordinary classes either, and last spring was studying hard for classes like AP Physics – not your typical school work load for a football player to say the least. The senior also made scores of a 28 and 1240 on the ACT and SAT respectively.
Hart takes a lot of pride in his academic success at McEachern, and believes his environment has prepared him to excel at the next level. “The Ivy League isn’t for everyone but I have worked hard off the field to be ready. The term is STUDENT-athlete right? I could not have done this without support from my parents, coaches, teachers and a lot of help from above,” he said.
Hart’s advice for upcoming recruits is to stay focused and continue to grind both on and off the field. The 2018 linebacker did not start full time last year for McEachern, and is a great example of a recruit who separated himself from the competition through hardwork.
Columbia landed a big sleeper in Hart, who we think could up putting massive tackle numbers this fall, and have his name float around as an All-State candidate. He made major improvements in the weight room this offseason adding about 10-15 pounds of muscle, and had several FBS schools like Wake Forest interested.
By far his best attribute is his elite speed. This offseason he was clocked running a 4.52 forty time, which makes him a weapon in pass coverage or as a blitzer on 3rd downs.
Heading into his senior season, Hart would like to make life difficult for opposing QB’s, and help his McEachern squad win a 7-A State Title. He seems adamant about that too, saying, “I would do anything for these guys.” One thing is for sure, Columbia just received a commitment from a true team player in Devin Hart.
