THE SKINNY
Hometown/High School: Pittsburgh, PA (Penn Hills)
Height/Weight: 5-foot-10, 160 pounds
Ranking: ★★★ (0.8355 247Sports Composite)
Offers: Buffalo and Toledo
HIGHLIGHTS
THE TALE
Following his junior season, Hardy actually earned some Power 5 offers from the likes of Michigan, Michigan State, and Nebraska. The offers never materialized into a ton of interest though, as Hardy was deciding between Buffalo and Toledo had Penn State never come through with an offer. Obviously since I’m writing this, the Nittany Lions did eventually offer on the day before National Signing Day, and it only took a couple of hours for Hardy to make the call for Penn State.
OUTLOOK
Penn State has extra room, and its decided to take a shot on Hardy. Bottom line, the kid was an extremely productive high school football player and he has the athleticism (4.54 forty and a 38-inch vert) to be a Power 5 player — the question will be if his frame can hold the 30 or so pounds, while keeping his quickness and explosion. If it can, he has the makings of a solid slot cornerback.
The Nittany Lions have had success with these late offers (Kevin Givens) while also having some misses (Corey Bolds). We’ll see where Hardy lies in a few years.