Player Profile: Mecole Hardman Jr.
Mecole Hardman Jr. is one of the premier athletes in the class of 2016. Whichever school he chooses will be fortunate to land him.
Photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District. Courtesy of creative commons.org.
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Biography
Mecole Hardman Jr. (Class of 2016) is from Elberton, Georgia, and attends Elbert County high school. He is a true athlete in every sense of the word and has all the athletic gifts to play just about any position he wants to at the collegiate level. Hardman Jr. plays quarterback for Elbert County and gets most of his highlight-worthy plays from that position, but will more than likely be a defensive back or wide receiver in college.
Rankings
247Sports: No. 1 ATH and No. 20 overall player in the class of 2016
Rivals: No. 2 ATH in the class of 2016
ESPN: No. 29 in ESPN300 for class of 2016 prospects
Offers
Hardman has SEC offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee and South Carolina. He holds 32 offers in all, most notably from Clemson, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Oklahoma. Georgia and Tennessee look like the favorites to land his services for now.
Film Review
Unfortunately, Hardman’s Hudl highlights are private, but this 2014 season highlight mix from Prep1Force displays plenty of what he brings to the table. Hardman has the speed and quickness to parallel any athlete in the class. If he gets any angle on a defender, he’s gone. His quickness translates to his ability to make quick cuts and make guys miss. He can stop and change direction almost effortlessly by just planting his foot.
Colleges love the non-teachable traits that make athletes stand out. Hardman has the ability to make the first defender miss on every play. Sometimes, he will just run around defenders with the speed to make a tackler’s head spin. He is a home run threat with the ball in his hands, and he should remind Vol fans of Pig Howard. They both have that smaller frame but thrive with the ball in their hands. Hardman, like Howard did, will get the ball in his hands in many different ways. He has schools across the country drooling at the possibility of having him on campus.
Edited by Cody McClure
Nathan is a junior at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He spends most of his free time eating meaningless foods and watching sports. If you wish to contact Nathan, you can email him at wodom3@vols.utk.edu or find him on Twitter, @NathanOdom11.
