Football recruiting: Former Cherokee Trail, Ohio State TE Sam Hart commits to CU Buffs

After three seasons with the Ohio State Buckeyes, Sam Hart is coming home. On Friday, the junior from Aurora announced that he has committed to Colorado to play for the Buffaloes and head coach Deion Sanders. Coming out of Cherokee Trail High School in 2021, Hart was a four-star recruit ranked as the third-best prospect in the state by 247Sports.

The 2021 class was heavy with local tight ends, with four of the top six prospects in the state playing tight end. That list included Erik Olsen (ranked No. 4), who signed with CU, as well as Terrance Ferguson (No.

1, Oregon) and Gunnar Helm (No. 6, Texas). The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Hart is still looking for his first catch in college and hopes that can happen with the Buffs.

He has two years of eligibility remaining. Hart didn’t appear in any games with the Buckeyes in 2021 or 2023, but he did play in five games in 2022. At Cherokee Trail, he caught 51 passes for 796 yards and seven touchdowns during his last two seasons.

He also played defensive end. In wrestling, Hart was the Class 5A state champion at 220 pounds as a junior in 2020 and finished as runner-up at 220 in 2019. He went 77-7 in those two years, including 38-0 as a junior.

He didn’t wrestle as a senior because he enrolled early at Ohio State. Adding Hart gives the Buffs some more experience in a rebuilt tight end room. Over the winter, the Buffs added Cincinnati transfer Chamon Metayer, who caught 23 passes for the Bearcats last year.

CU has also moved two defensive players to tight end: Morgan Pearson and Sav’ell Smalls. .