Justin Hardy

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Not to be confused with Justin Hardee.
Justin Hardy
refer to caption
Hardy in 2015
Free agent
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1991-12-18) December 18, 1991 (age 30)
Washington, North Carolina
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:192 lb (87 kg)
Career information
High school:West Craven
(Vanceboro, North Carolina)
College:East Carolina
NFL Draft:2015 / Round: 4 / Pick: 107
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2021
Receptions:95
Receiving yards:946
Receiving touchdowns:9
Player stats at NFL.com

Justin Hardy (born December 18, 1991) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Atlanta 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.[10]

Hardy finished his collegiate career with 387 receptions for 4,541 yards and 35 touchdowns.[11]

Statistics[]

NCAA Collegiate Career statistics
East Carolina Pirates
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

[12]

Professional career[]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
5 ft 10+1⁄4 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[13]

Atlanta Falcons[]

Hardy was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round (107th overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft.[14] In his rookie season, Hardy played in nine games, catching 21 passes for 194 yards.[15] 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.[16] In the 2016 season, he had 21 receptions for 203 yards and four touchdowns.[17] Hardy and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI, where they faced the New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl, Hardy had two kickoff returns for 17 total yards as the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat.[18] In the 2017 season, Hardy recorded 20 receptions for 221 yards and three touchdowns.[19]

On March 21, 2019, Hardy re-signed with the Falcons.[20]

Chicago Bears[]

On July 27, 2021, Hardy signed with the Chicago Bears.[21] He was released on August 17, 2021.

References[]

  1. ^ "DeCock: Justin Hardy embodies The ECU Way". Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  2. ^ "NCHSAA 3A East Regional - Results (Raw)".
  3. ^ a b c "Justin Hardy Named 2014 Burlsworth Trophy Winner" (Press release). ECU Athletics. December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  4. ^ "East Carolina sophomore Justin Hardy turning heads at receiver".
  5. ^ "ECU receiver Justin Hardy rises through record book".
  6. ^ Editor, Adam Thompson, Sports. "Football: ECU's Hardy closes final spring". {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ "East Carolina's Justin Hardy pulls off hat trick".
  8. ^ "ECU's Hardy sets FBS career catches mark". November 22, 2014.
  9. ^ "ECU WR Justin Hardy breaks FBS career receiving record".
  10. ^ "Justin Hardy 2014 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  11. ^ "Justin Hardy Career Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 25, 2017.
  12. ^ "Justin Hardy". www.sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  13. ^ "NFL Combine Profiles". NFL.com. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  14. ^ McClure, Vaugh. Total breakdown: Falcons draft WR Justin Hardy in fourth round. ESPN.com May 2, 2015.
  15. ^ Justin Hardy. pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  16. ^ McClure, Vaughn. Falcons work through their red zone struggles on road in win over Raiders. ESPN.com September 18, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  17. ^ "Justin Hardy 2016 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  18. ^ "Super Bowl LI - New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons - February 5th, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
  19. ^ "Justin Hardy 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  20. ^ McFadden, Will (March 21, 2019). "Falcons agree to terms with Justin Hardy". AtlantaFalcons.com.
  21. ^ "Bears sign wide outs Justin Hardy and Jon'Vea Johnson, waive two". Windy City Gridiron. SB Nation. July 27, 2021.

External links[]

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