Greg Hardy Scouting Report

Hardy started nine games as a freshman in 2006 and he has never looked back. The star defensive end led the SEC in 2007 with 10 quarterback sacks and he was named to the All-SEC First Team by both the Associated Press and the conference's coaches. He was sidelined for Ole Miss' first three games of the 2008 season while recovering from a foot injury, but he still recorded 8.5 sacks (first on the team and third in the SEC) while being named to the All-SEC Second Team by the coaches. Hardy was leading the way on defense for the Rebels throughout most of the regular season, but an ankle injury in the ninth game forced him to miss the rest of the year. He still finished with five sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. Hardy looked like a sure first-rounder if he had departed after his junior campaign, but he decided to return. The move, especially experience-wise, seemed to pay off until the injury. Now Hardy is no longer a lock for the first round of the upcoming draft. Still, he has both the experience and the necessary blend of size and speed to thrive at the next level. He is 6'4' and 270 pounds and he has been clocked around 4.6 in the 40-yard-dash (he worked on and improved his speed between his junior and senior seasons). Hardy, however, ran in the 4.8s at the combine, so that did not help his draft stock. The main concerns surrounding Hardy involve durability and consistency. He often goes into funks in which he fails to produce. His sacks usually come in bunches, while at other times he is simply a non-factor. On talent alone, Hardy still has a chance to be a late first-round selection in the 2010 draft. Most likely, though, he will go off the board in the early or middle parts of round two.