By JEFF NATIONS / jeff.nations@bgdailynews.com

George Hart III was more than ready to celebrate his first collegiate touchdown in the Hilltoppers’ 31-14 win against Kennesaw State on Oct. 30 at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

Four years into a college career that took him from his Louisiana home way out west to play at Arizona State before bringing him to Bowling Green to join the Tops in May, it was long past time for Hart to cut loose after that long-awaited touchdown.

But first, Hart had to take a moment to give thanks.

“I have to praise God as soon as I ran into the end zone,” Hart said. “It was just cool that all my work came to a certain point where I could finally get that reward. There’s hopefully more to come. So yeah, it definitely was rewarding – just got to keep my head down and keep working, stay humble.”

A 5-foot-11, 210-pound redshirt junior, Hart has seen his playing time tick upward as he settles in with the Hilltoppers. A relatively late addition to the program as a transfer from Arizona State, Hart had the usual hurdles to overcome – namely, learning a brand-new offense and the terminology that goes with it.

That process happened during the summer and fall camp, and since then Hart has continued to see more time on the field as the season has progressed for the Tops.

“George is a guy that got here a little late, so I think he’s kind of hitting his stride a little bit of knowing everything that we do,” WKU offensive coordinator Will Friend said. “He brings a physicality that’s good. He does a good job blocking. He’s a strong runner and really he’s gotten better each week and has gotten more involved each week. I think it’s helped Izzy (Elijah Young) too, where he doesn’t have to think he’s got to carry the load. I think if we can get one more guy to step up in that position, I think you’ve got a situation where guys can be fresh in the second half and not be worn down.

“It doesn’t take (just) one. If you can have more than one that can tote the ball and those type things, I think it keeps guys healthy and keeps guys fresh. So George has been huge for us and we’ve got to continue to go in that direction.”

Young has been a workhorse out of the backfield for two seasons now and currently leads the team with 117 carries for 489 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Caden Veltkamp’s ability to run the ball – 68 carries for 200 yards and 5 TDs – has added an additional element to the ground game, but if the Kennesaw State game is any indication it may be Hart getting more carries the rest of the season. Hart had a season-high six rushes for 36 yards, including that 30-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter. That play featured Hart’s unique skill-set as a power runner as he demolished a would-be tackler, then his straight-line speed as he accelerated away from pursuit to finally reach the end zone.

“I think I can just do a little bit of it all,” Hart said. “I can catch it out of the backfield, power – people don’t realize I’ve got a little bit of speed in me, so hopefully I’m able to showcase that more. I feel like my vision takes me pretty good places. God blessed me with all those abilities, so I’ve just got to stick to it and keep going.”

Those 36 yards gained equaled Hart’s three-year total at Arizona State, where he saw some time in the backfield but mostly contributed on special teams after arriving as a preferred walk-on who earned his scholarship after a season with the Sun Devils.

“I never really get tired of telling it because it’s a crazy one,” Hart said of his recruitment by ASU. “So basically I was recruited during COVID, so it was hard to talk with teams. (Arizona State running backs coach Shaun Aguano) ended up hitting me and my family up. It was during a Mother’s Day brunch at my high school. We were on the phone for a little bit and he offered me a preferred walk-on. Then I’m in class at school and LSU hit me up with a preferred walk-on the next day.

“It was crazy, all these opportunities pretty much after nothing. After that ASU, called back again and ended up giving me the preferred walk-on spot.”

The opportunities might have been limited for Hart, but the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native has no regrets about starting his college career at Arizona State.

“Being from Louisiana, I’d never seen mountains, I’d never been to the West Coast,” Hart said. “I was able to create new relationships, get new experiences. It’s like a whole different world because when you’re in Louisiana it’s like Texas, you think that’s everything. Then you go over there, it’s a whole new world and it was really cool to see and experience.

“ … That staff over there, I have the upmost respect for – they helped me through the recruiting process and everything. Those guys over there were really cool to me. We were talking and it just came down to the decision if I wanted more opportunity because that room is really deep over there and I love all those guys. It was really just more opportunity for me.”

Hart found that opportunity at WKU, where he found a “real straightforward” coaching staff including Friend, running backs coach Andre Crenshaw and head coach Tyson Helton.

“It’s like a family here,” said Hart, who has 23 carries for 157 yards and a touchdown this season along with four receptions for 11 yards and a kickoff return that went for 24 yards.

Hart’s father, also named George, coached him growing up and still serves as running backs coach at his high school alma mater. That formed the basis of Hart’s football knowledge and he’s expanded that at ASU and now WKU through both the coaching staff and with teammates.

“It’s a good running back room – we’ve got a good group in there,” Hart said. “Like me, Izzy, L.T. (Sanders), Jalen (Hampton), even the young bucks – we all get on the iPad goes on the field and we all just talk about it, trying to see what we could do best. We’ve all got a different lease to help the offense.”

Hart’s path to WKU has had its share of winding turns, but he thinks he is right where he was meant to be.

“It was a crazy transition, but God knew what he was doing,” Hart said. “He had his hand in my life and still does, so I’ve got to give my praise to him. And praised to my o-line and coaches too, just everybody keeping their heads down and putting in work every day like we haven’t got a win yet.”