Hart’s numbers are mind-boggling: 6-foot-5, 298 pounds _ and he’s just 16 years old

Hart one of the best o-lineman and he’s just 16

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Bobby Hart is one of the best offensive linemen in the 2011 recruiting class.

And he just turned 16.

Hart, a 6-foot-5, 298-pound left tackle at perennial power St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) High School, who celebrated his birthday on Aug. 21.

“His upside is just ridiculous,” head coach George Smith said.

Hart, who is on The Associated Press South Region 25 list of top recruits, is younger than some freshmen on the team, which only adds to his potential as a player.

“I have my best years ahead of me,” Hart said. “I’m just trying to develop as a person and as a player to reach my potential in everything.”

Following his junior season at Cardinal Gibbons, Hart transferred to Aquinas, which has produced a number of future NFL and college players.

Since he has been at Aquinas, Hart has been impressive.

“He works really hard,” Smith said. “He wants to be good and he is real receptive to coaching.”

Hart racked up over 50 scholarship offers before verbally committing to Florida State in July. The Seminoles are No. 20 in the Top 25 preseason poll. Florida, Alabama, and LSU were in his final four.

“I could have easily went to a school like Florida or Alabama, who have been doing the past couple of years and just been another player,” Hart said. “But I chose Florida State because even though they have been on a downgrade, you can feel the changes that are going on.”

He has been to the Florida State campus seven times for unofficial visits.

“Every time I went there it felt like home,” said Hart, who says he is not interested in taking official visits to other schools.