Penn State Football Draft profile | Speedy CB Daequan Hardy Can Earn Stripes On Defense, Special Teams
(First published by The Daily Collegian | Written by Avery Hill)
Daequan Hardy lit up the college football world when he returned two punts for touchdowns in the Oct. 14 contest against UMass — becoming the first player to do so in Penn State history.
Furthermore, Hardy comes into the draft with hefty experience, participating as a nickel corner in all five seasons in Happy Valley and adding punt returner to his resume in his final year.
In those seasons, the Pittsburgh native filled stat sheets with 60 tackles, five interceptions and a punt return average of 14.6 yards per return.
With the value of athletic, nickel corners in today’s game, Hardy could put himself in position to prove himself at the next level.
Hardy hasn’t garnered much NFL draft buzz, but after a strong combine, things are looking up for the athletic corner.
At the combine, Hardy posted a 40-yard dash of 4.38 seconds and followed that up with a vertical jump of 42.5 inches. Still, it’s unlikely he’ll hear his phone ring until Day 3 of the draft at the earliest due to being undersized.
As a corner, Hardy doesn’t seem to maximize his athletic ability, often getting beaten off of routes and being forced to recover. At the same time, with Hardy’s speed combined with overall ball skills, he has typically been able to recover and break up the pass — including posting a career-high three pass breakups against Ohio State last season, all in the first quarter.
Time and time again, Hardy showed the ability to track the ball and time his breakups on deep routes perfectly, showcasing talent that NFL teams can work with.
As a tackler, Hardy sometimes struggles in the open field given his small frame and would likely spend time on the sideline in obvious run situations.
Hardy can still make an impact downhill though, notching 3.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles as a Nittany Lion — something fairly common for cornerbacks in Manny Diaz’s blitz-heavy attack.
The bigger experiment for NFL teams comes with Hardy’s skill as a punt returner, due to limited experience and his two-touchdown performance coming against a 3-9 UMass squad.
If drafted or signed, expect Hardy to get plenty of reps at punt and kick return during the summer. With the new kickoff rules nullifying the impact of his lack of acceleration, he’ll have ample time to build up speed and break away.
Hardy could help out former Nittany Lion Micah Parsons and the Cowboys in a multitude of ways.
With interception king DaRon Bland moving to outside corner, the Cowboys only have Jourdan Lewis slotted in the nickelback spot.
To add, Dallas hasn’t re-signed Stephon Gilmore, likely meaning Bland will remain at outside corner spot for 2024.
While Hardy won’t be expected to immediately compete for a starting spot, he could provide depth to a Cowboys defense that only fields seven corners heading into the draft.
As a scheme fit, Dallas frequents nickel and dime formations and uses Cover 1 heavily, allowing Hardy to continue to make an impact off of slot blitzes.
Even on special teams, Hardy can provide a spark after a long line of quality returners have departed Dallas. In 2024, the squad was dead last in punt return average, getting 5.4 yards per return.