A first-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals, he also played professionally for the Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos of the NFL.

He attended Lincoln County High School in Lincolnton, where he was an all-state running back and broke several records.

Hearst was a consensus All-America selection, the Doak Walker Award recipient, ESPN's ESPY Winner for Outstanding Collegiate Athlete and SEC Player of the year in 1992.

[5] The Cardinals however felt it was needed to sign Simeon Rice to go with Leeland McElroy moving forward in the run game.

[11] His total rushing yards placed him third in the NFL, behind only Terrell Davis and Jamal Anderson.

Against the Detroit Lions late in the season, he set a then single-game franchise record of 198 rushing yards, which was later broken in 2000 by Charlie Garner.

He also had the longest running play in the NFL earlier in the season, when he ran 96 yards for a game-winning touchdown in overtime on opening day versus the New York Jets.

[citation needed] Following the great season by Hearst, he rushed for 128 yards and caught 3 passes for 15 in their wildcard win over the Green Bay Packers.

On the first play from scrimmage, Hearst suffered a gruesome ankle break when his foot was caught in the Georgia Dome turf and twisted severely as he tried to spin away from Falcons' defensive end Chuck Smith.

Hearst ran into complications following surgery as circulatory problems choked off the blood supply in the area, leading to Avascular Necrosis, causing the talus bone in his foot to die.

[14] Hearst remained with the 49ers for two more seasons, but was used less often, the focus of the 49ers' running game shifting to Kevan Barlow.

[19] In 2002, Hearst made inflammatory anti-gay comments to the Fresno Bee after Esera Tuaolo admitted he was gay.