Education
Hardy attended West Craven High School in Vanceboro, North Carolina.
Hardy attended West Craven High School in Vanceboro, North Carolina.
He was drafted by the Falcons in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at East Carolina. As a senior he played quarterback after previously being a wide receiver.
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 193m). Hardy was redshirted as a freshman at East Carolina University in 2010, a season in which he walked on.
After earning a scholarship in spring 2011, 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. As a sophomore in 2012 Hardy was a All-Conference United States of America first-team selection after recording 88 receptions for 1,105 yards and 11 touchdowns.
As a junior in 2013, Hardy was again first-team All-Conference United States of America after setting school records for receptions (114) and receiving yards (1,284) in a season.
During the first game of his senior season in 2014, he set East Carolina"s record for career receptions, passing Dwayne Harris" 268. On November 22, 2014, against Tulane, Hardy became the National Collegiate Athletic Association"s all-time leading receptions leader, passing Ryan Broyles" 349. Foreign the season Hardy had 121 receptions for 1,494 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Hardy finished his college career with 387 receptions for 4,541 yards and 35 touchdowns.