Savion Hart will attend Georgetown University, one of the premier academic institutions in the United States, on a full football scholarship in the fall.

That fact hadn’t fully sunk in for the St. Thomas Academy running back Wednesday, shortly after the star running back signed his National Letter of Intent.

“Definitely surreal,” he said. “Life changing.”

And it’s all happening in, seemingly, the blink of an eye.

Hart grew up in poverty. And football, he noted, provided a pathway he may not have previously thought possible.

“You see the bigger picture and the real world, and it’s like you could really go to college for this and go make something of yourself,” Hart said in November. “For me, making something of myself is just being successful in something that you love and you know you can have a real life with sufficiency, having money and just being able to support yourself and being successful in that.”

But it would all come down to his senior football season. Heading into the fall, Hart’s recruitment was slow. Only around that time were schools starting to become aware of who he was. And even when they did take note, many added that they wanted to see what he did for a finale to his high school career.

So not only did Hart have to be patient, he also had to be productive. His future depended on it.  That immense pressure only further shined the diamond.

Hart delivered an immaculate senior season in which he ran for 2,642 yards and 39 touchdowns while leading the Cadets to the Class 5A state title game, where they lost to Chanhassen in overtime. In that Prep Bowl, Hart ran for 226 yards and two scores.

St. Thomas Academy running back Savion Hart (26) runs the ball in for a touchdown as Chanhassen wide receiver|defensive back Tyler Smith (5) tries to bring him down during the first half of the Class 5A championship game of the State Football Tournament at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023. (Matt Blewett / Special to Pioneer Press)

It was a season after which there were no questions left to ask about the senior tailback. He was, indeed, the goods.

“I think, for me, realizing when I made it to the state championship, it was like, ‘I did the best I could to help my recruitment, help my teammates, my team, help my family, everything.’ I did the best I could for my last season,” Hart said. “So I’m really happy with the outcome right now.”

Upon the conclusion of early signing day for Division I programs in mid-December, Hart received offers from the likes of Robert Morris and Georgetown. The noted academic excellence of the latter was an obvious draw. The running back’s initial plans are to hopefully double-major, with degrees in film and marketing or business.

Hart noted his mom and the rest of his family members — who he credited in his speech at the St. Thomas Academy ceremony Wednesday with pushing him every day — are “definitely happy that I’m going to a Georgetown with their academics. They care about the academics.”

“I knew it was globally known, and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s crazy.’ I looked into it, and the academics were wild. Yeah, it could benefit me after school, too,” Hart said. “But I just knew it’s Division I and I could go there and try to help their program to be the best it could. Yeah, I fell in love with the school, the coaches, everything. The vibe and energy was there. I loved all the energy that they gave me.”

As well as the opportunity. Hart said the coaches at the FCS program told him if he comes in and works hard — which has been his trademark during his time at the Mendota Heights school — then he could have an opportunity to come in and start and contribute in a major way.

“Then we’ll see what happens next,” Hart said. “But yeah, they envision me to come in and be a big part of the team if I can do that.”

Being a school that believed in the back, Georgetown is certain to receive Hart’s very best.

“Them giving me this opportunity — get on there with a full scholarship, don’t have to really do nothing or pay nothing — that just gives me the motivation to put my everything into that team, that organization and the school in general,” Hart said. “I’m appreciative of all of it. I don’t know, it’s still hitting me a little bit. But I’m very appreciative of Georgetown accepting me into their university and getting a chance to go play at that level and soon, hopefully, if I’m blessed enough, to go to the next level (in the NFL).

“It’s still crazy right now. I’m blessed and thankful for everybody that has helped me get here to where I am now.”

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