Hardy couldn't even crack the three-deep in 2012 — but this year he's been emerging as a regular at
safety, including making a huge play to help seal the win against Navy Nov. 2.
photo by bill panzica
In August 2011, Hardy joined then
outside linebacker and now tight end
Troy Niklas as the two Irish freshmen
who cracked the top lineup early on
the kickoff coverage and kickoff return
units. Rated by 247Sports as a four-star
prospect and the No. 170 overall recruit nationally, the 5-11¼, 177-pound
Hardy was drawing notice from the
coaching staff as either a corner or
safety, and definitely a special teams
regular.
Ten minutes into the first full day
of contact, in a regular tackling drill,
Hardy tore the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) in his left knee, with his
hamstring even coming off the bone.
Physical and mental roadblocks then
prevented Hardy's efforts to get back
into the mix in 2012 as a sophomore.
"I had hamstring problems, I was
having groin problems," Hardy recalled. "That was basically because the
muscles around my knee weren't as
