Film Don't Lie: Cam Hart
With a lot of the top guys on their board not showing much interest, things were looking bleak for awhile in receiver recruiting for the Irish. While the defense and offensive line kept adding good pieces, the skill positions seemed stuck in a rut.
The addition of Cam Hart changes that. The two-way player at Good Counsel (Maryland) is not considered an elite prospect, but he has the potential to grow into an impact player for Notre Dame. I love the way he attacks on offense and defense and think he could grow into a key piece at receiver that far surpasses his current ranking.
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 181
Projected Position: Wide Receiver
ISD Grade: 88 (3-star)
National Average Grade: 87.1 (3-star)
What he does best:
I’m going to bring up the word attack again because that is what immediately comes to mind when watching Hart. This is a player who doesn’t want to settle. He wants to get everything he can out of the play.
It’s not enough to just get the first down. He is looking for more when he catches the football and immediately turn it up the field to try and score.
He is going to get yards after the catch. I wish more players had his same type of mentality.
That comes across on defense too. This is a physical football player that will come up and lay the wood as a tackler. I think you’ll see him cracking back on linebackers in the running game often.
He can win in traffic. I wouldn’t say he jumps out of the gym as leaper, but he is not afraid to go up and get it like on this play with two defenders on him.
Again, it’s him attacking the ball in the air. That is what he does best. Hart attacks when he is on the football field. He’s a battler.
What he needs to improve:
Hart has good speed, but he wouldn’t classify as a burner. He ran a 4.7 at a Nike camp this year. He plays faster than that, but I don’t see a player who can run by corners with elite speed. Can he become a 4.5 guy at the next level? If he does then it would take his game to a different level.
I think he is an above average route runner at this stage in his development. He does a good job sinking his hips and has pretty good feet. But I have always believed that players who aren’t pure speed guys need to become elite route runners to be able to separate. That means being precise and increase efficiency to help his short area quickness.
He can be a body catcher at times and I would like to see him consistently snatch the football away from his body more. I also didn’t get to see him working against press very often because the corners he was facing were giving him a free release. That’s more of what I don’t know about him rather than what he can improve, but I thought it was worth mentioning.
What’s his ceiling?
I think Hart has a very high ceiling. He reminds a lot of current freshman Joe Wilkins in many ways. Both were high 3-star prospects and I believe have the potential to develop into not just good, but great players.
We’ll see if that happens, but Hart could end up being a high end number two receiver that I see playing the X position for the Irish. At worst he can end up as a possession receiver. At best, he can be a lot more than that.
BREAKING: 2019 WR Cam Hart is headed to Notre Dame