Born in Washington, Hardy boasts a bright future

Shortly after becoming the all-time FBS career receptions leader on Saturday, Justin Hardy, using the photo-sharing social media network Instagram, posted a self-goal sheet he filled out before his redshirt freshman season.

Hardy listed seven goals: receive a lot of playing time, become a starter, become all-conference, become an All-American, break records, play in the NFL and become a billionaire.

Of the first five Hardy listed, the only goal Hardy will fail to reach is likely All-American. With the release of the 10 Biletnikoff semi-finalists two weeks ago, the powers that be in the NCAA made it very clear through Hardy’s absence (and the presence of a couple head-scratchers) that there is an interest in keeping the power within the Power 5 conferences, which ECU does not reside.

Head coach Ruffin McNeill made his opinion of the committee that chooses the nation’s most outstanding receiver concise enough in the ensuing press conference with the remark, “That is the most idiotic thing that I have ever heard that that young man is not on the list.” McNeill followed that preface with an eight-minute rant.

While his coach lobbied for him, Hardy himself deflected questions about the snub throughout the next couple weeks with answers like, “It is what it is,” and “Life goes on.”

Right now, along with doing his part to help the Pirates win their final few games, the Vanceboro-native and Washington-born receiver is probably more focused on the sixth goal of his freshman sheet — playing pro ball.

The NFL doesn’t care where you played or who coached you. Can’t-miss prospects get their shot almost every time and Hardy is just that.

“If [you] want to win, you choose him,” says McNeill. “He’ll do whatever it takes in whatever city is wise enough to take him.”

Hardy doesn’t necessarily have the size (6-feet, 196 pounds) of a typical NFL receiver and he won’t be close to the fastest guy at the NFL combine. However, he compensates in those areas with a cut, athletic build that lends to exceptional fast-twist motion and helps him explode off route cuts and more importantly, avoid punishing blows; with three games left, he could finish 30 or even 40 receptions past the previous career catches record (349 by Oklahoma’s Ryan Broyles) and that should speak volumes about his durability more than anything else.

But it’s the little things, the intangibles, that keeps his professional stock rising, and it’s the little things that have made Hardy a college football legend. He epitomizes what a possession receiver should be.

ECU fans can count on their hands, which are much smaller than Hardy’s, the number of times No. 2 has dropped a pass in his career. His ability to find the soft spot in the coverage, even if it means standing in the flat waving his long arms at the line of scrimmage, makes him the ultimate safety net for quarterback Shane Carden.

There’s no wasted motion on his routes either. He makes precise cuts and his innate ball skills help him succeed on routes like fades and curls. After he hauls in a pass off a curl, Hardy commonly showcases his most unique and uncanny ability. Given his track record, he is often being hounded by more than one player, but with his back turned, he inexplicably almost always knows whether to turn clockwise or counter-clockwise and get up field without getting leveled by a safety.

And he doesn’t just make plays with the ball in his hands.

“You probably didn’t notice how well he blocked,” said McNeill following Saturday’s 34-6 win over Tulane. “There’s some things he does that go unnoticed, but not by me.”

Rest assured, coach, the NFL is taking notice.

Odds are that Hardy will fall a zero or two short of reaching his goal of becoming a billionaire, but given what this former walk-on with no Division I offers has been able to accomplish so far, don’t be surprised to find him in Forbes magazine down the line.