Kevin Lamont Hardy (born July 24, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, and Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Early years
Hardy attended William Henry Harrison High School, where he received numerous awards and accolades as a high school football player.
As a senior, he posted 127 tackles (47 solo), 2 interceptions, 32 receptions for 610 yards and 13 touchdowns, 55 carries for 410 yards, returned 6 punts for 42 yards and 15 kickoffs for 344 yards. He received All-Evansville, City Player of the Year, All-Southern Indiana and Conference and Region Player of the Year honors.
He also was a cum laude honor roll student, competed in basketball and ran track. His teammates included future NBA players Calbert Cheaney, Walter McCarty and also future college coach Chris Lowery.
College career
Hardy accepted a football scholarship from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. As a redshirt freshman, he had 67 tackles (third on the team), 4 sacks and 7 tackles for loss.
As a sophomore, he started all 11 games at "drop" linebacker. He totaled 78 tackles (fourth on the team), 2 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 2 passes defensed and one forced fumble.
As a junior, he registered 80 tackles (8 for loss), one sack, 2 interceptions and one pass defensed. During his time at Illinois, the Fighting Illini had a number of outstanding linebackers. In the 1994 season, the four linebackers in coach Lou Tepper's 3–4 defense were Hardy, fellow Butkus Award winner Dana Howard, Simeon Rice and John Holecek. Because of this, Hardy was often overlooked, as he was not prolific in accumulating tackles like Howard, or in quarterback sacks as was Rice, who as a "rush linebacker" played on the line of scrimmage like a defensive end.
As a senior, he was recognized as being among the very best linebackers in college football, winning the Dick Butkus Award and receiving consensus first-team All-American honors. He started every game at "drop" linebacker, finishing with 105 tackles (second on the team), 11 sacks, 15 tackles for loss, 5 forced fumbles, 3 interceptions (tied for the team lead) and 3 passes defensed. He had 18 tackles (13 solo) against Michigan State University. He made 3 sacks against Indiana University.
Hardy finished his career ranked ninth on the Illinois All-time list with 330 tackles, fourth in sacks with 18, and fourth in tackles for loss with 38. He was a business major and was initiated as a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
Professional football
Jacksonville Jaguars
Hardy was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round with the second overall choice in the 1996 NFL Draft, signing a six-year $14.8 million contract with a six million dollar signing bonus. Hardy's fellow linebacker at Illinois, Rice, was selected with the third overall choice.
Hardy became the first defensive rookie in franchise history to start on opening day, going on to start 15 games at strongside linebacker. He recorded 130 tackles (second on the team), 5.5 sacks (third in the NFL among rookies), 7 quarterback hurries, 2 interceptions (tied for the team lead), 7 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and was named to the NFL All-Rookie team.
In 1997, he was limited with injuries, starting 11 out of 13 games at strongside linebacker. He tallied 73 tackles (3 for loss), 2.5 sacks, 5 quarterback hurries and one pass defensed. He suffered a sprained left medial collateral ligament against the Dallas Cowboys, missing 3 contests and seeing limited action in several games the remainder of the season because of the injury. He was able to start the wild card playoff game against the Denver Broncos, collecting 8 tackles.
In 1998, with the signing of free agent Bryce Paup, he was moved to weakside linebacker and started all 16 games. He had a franchise record 186 tackles, while also making 1.5 sacks, 10 quarterback hurries, 2 interceptions, 7 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He set a franchise record (for postseason or regular season) with 23 tackles in the Divisional playoff game against the New York Jets, while also having a sack and a forced fumble.