Justin Hardy
 Hardy in 2015 | |||||||||
| No. 14 Atlanta Falcons | |||||||||
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| Position: | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | December 18, 1991 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Vanceboro, North Carolina | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 188 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Vanceboro (NC) West Craven | ||||||||
| College: | East Carolina | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 2015 / Round: 4 / Pick: 107 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2016 | |||||||||
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Justin Hardy (born December 18, 1991) is an American football wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Falcons in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at East Carolina. Hardy was the NCAA all time reception leader until his former teammate Zay Jones overtook his record during the 2016 season.
Early years
Hardy attended West Craven High School in Vanceboro, North Carolina. As a senior on the football team, he played quarterback after previously being a wide receiver.[1] That season, he passed for 2,500 yards and had 35 passing touchdowns. Hardy also picked two additional letters as a shooting and point guard on the basketball floor and another in track as a high jumper (best of 6-4 or 1.93m).[2]
College career
Hardy was redshirted as a freshman at East Carolina University in 2010, a season in which he walked on.[3] After earning a scholarship in spring 2011,[3] he started eight of 10 games in his redshirt freshman season in 2011, recording a school freshman record 64 receptions for 658 yards and six touchdowns.[4] As a sophomore in 2012 Hardy was an All-Conference USA first-team selection after recording 88 receptions for 1,105 yards and 11 touchdowns.[5] As a junior in 2013, Hardy was again first-team All-Conference USA after setting school records for receptions (114) and receiving yards (1,284) in a season.[6] During the first game of his senior season in 2014, he set East Carolina's record for career receptions, passing Dwayne Harris' 268.[7] On November 22, 2014, against Tulane, Hardy became the NCAA's all-time leading receptions leader, passing Ryan Broyles' 349.[8][9] On December 8, 2014, Hardy was named the winner of that season's Burlsworth Trophy, awarded annually to the most outstanding player who began his college career as a walk-on.[3] For the season Hardy had 121 receptions for 1,494 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Hardy finished his collegiate career with 387 receptions for 4,541 yards and 35 touchdowns.
Statistics
| Season | Receiving | Rushing | Punt Returns | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | Rec | Yards | Avg | TD | Att | Yards | TD | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
| 2011 | 10 | 64 | 658 | 10.3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 13 | 88 | 1105 | 12.6 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 175 | 8.8 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 13 | 114 | 1284 | 11.3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 225 | 11.3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 13 | 121 | 1494 | 12.3 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 23 | 95 | 4.1 | 0 | |
| Career Totals | 49 | 387 | 4,541 | 11.7 | 35 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 63 | 495 | 7.9 | 0 | [10] |
Professional career
| Ht | Wt | Arm length | Hand size | 40‑yd dash | 10-yd split | 20-yd split | 20‑ss | 3‑cone | Vert jump | Broad | BP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
192 lb (87 kg) |
32 1⁄8 in (0.82 m) |
10 in (0.25 m) |
4.56 s | 4.21 s | 6.63 s | 36.5 in (0.93 m) |
9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
11 reps | |||
| All values from NFL Combine[11] | ||||||||||||
Hardy was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round (107th overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft.[12] In his rookie season, Hardy played in nine games, catching 21 passes for 194 yards.[13] In Week 2 of the 2016 season, against the Oakland Raiders, Hardy scored his first career touchdown when he caught a deflected pass from Matt Ryan in the end zone.[14] Hardy and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, where they faced the New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl, the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat.[15]
References
- ↑ DeCock: Justin Hardy embodies The ECU Way
- ↑ http://nc.milesplit.com/meets/72169/results/123406
- 1 2 3 "Justin Hardy Named 2014 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). ECU Athletics. December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
- ↑ East Carolina sophomore Justin Hardy turning heads at receiver
- ↑ ECU receiver Justin Hardy rises through record book
- ↑ Football: ECU’s Hardy closes final spring
- ↑ East Carolina’s Justin Hardy pulls off hat trick
- ↑ Justin Hardy sets receptions record
- ↑ ECU WR Justin Hardy breaks FBS career receiving record
- ↑ "Justin Hardy". www.sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ↑ "NFL Combine Profiles". NFL.com. NFL.com. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
- ↑ McClure, Vaugh. Total breakdown: Falcons draft WR Justin Hardy in fourth round. ESPN.com 2 May 2015.
- ↑ Justin Hardy. pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ↑ McClure, Vaughn. Falcons work through their red zone struggles on road in win over Raiders. ESPN.com 18 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
- ↑ "Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons - February 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Justin Hardy. |