Inside
Game Day Saturday, November
22, 2014
By Al Myatt |
|
'Deuce' becomes No. 1
Al Myatt
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Coach Ruff &
Justin Hardy Post-game
Audio...
GREENVILLE
—
"Deuce" is how East Carolina football coach Ruffin McNeill refers to senior
inside wide receiver Justin Hardy. It's because Hardy wears uniform No. 2.
"Deuce" became No. 1 on
Saturday, moving ahead of former Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles for the most
career catches in Football Bowl Subdivision history.
Broyles had 349 receptions for
the Sooners between 2008 and 2011. Hardy finished a 34-6 American Athletic
Conference win over Tulane at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday with 355
catches since walking on at ECU from West Craven High School.
McNeill credited the team's
well-rounded performance and resiliency before focusing on Hardy.
"Thirty-four years and
3,000-plus athletes I've coached," McNeill said. "That young man is one of
the best. I'm not talking about on the field right now. I'm talking about
how he carries himself and how he goes about his daily business. ... He's an
example of dedication to the team. ... What you might not have noticed was
how well he blocked. ...
"When you say you're the best
in the history of something, the best in the history of college football,
that's saying something and it's here at East Carolina University, my alma
mater."
Hardy's feat is a testimony to
the McNeill system, the Lincoln Riley offense and his connection with
quarterback Shane Carden.
Most of Pirate Nation was well
aware of the most important numbers entering a rematch with the Green Wave,
which
had stunned the Pirates 36-33 in triple overtime
in New Orleans last season when both programs were making their farewell
tours in Conference USA.
Hardy needed four catches to
surpass Broyles and the Pirates needed to put the brakes on a two-game
losing streak.
Hardy had two receptions on
ECU's first possession, a 14-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage and
a 7-yard pickup later in the series.
Hardy tied the record with a
22-yard catch and run to the Tulane 30-yard line that led to a 35-yard field
goal by Warren Harvey for a 3-0 Pirates lead with 8:00 left in the first
quarter.
The record breaker, the 350th
catch of Hardy's college career, came with ECU facing second-and-5 at the
Tulane 38 in the second quarter.
Hardy lined up as the lone
receiver on the right side. He ran an 8-yard buttonhook and Carden delivered
the pass. The play came with 5:46 left in the first half and the crowd of
48,433 got to their feet to acknowledge the accomplishment. Tulane corner
Parry Nickerson made the stop on the play.
The ball Hardy caught and his
No. 2 jersey have been requested by the College Football Hall of Fame in
Atlanta.
A banner recognizing the
achievement was unfurled at the Murphy Center and Hardy stood with McNeill
in a brief ceremony on the field minutes later.
Hardy gave a game ball from the
victory to his mother, Tara, after ECU had improved to 7-3 overall and 4-2
in the AAC. Hardy's dad, Sam, has passed away since Hardy earned a
scholarship from ECU.
"I told his Mom after he passed
that I was Justin's dad," McNeill said.
McNeill likes to take a
figurative father role with all of his players. Hardy and Carden have
developed in McNeill's no-entitlement system, working their way up from the
scout team.
Hardy began contributing as a
redshirt freshman in 2011 when he played in 10 games. He started eight and
made 64 catches.
"I told Shane he would get his
chance and to make the most of it," Hardy said.
Carden's chance came early in
the 2012 season when he supplanted Rio Johnson as starting quarterback.
Tulane coach Curtis Johnson saw
the record as a two-player process since, obviously, someone must throw
Hardy the ball.
"Both of those guys should
share that record because of the passes, the practices and the reps they
have going in and out," Johnson said. "Both of those guys are phenomenal."
Carden completed 31 of 44
passes for 358 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. The Pirates
did not have a turnover and penalties were minimal, five for 40 yards.
Hardy's nine catches accounted for 104 yards.
The Green Wave gave Hardy some
extra attention but the depth of the receiving corps, Carden's ability to go
through his progressions and the versatility of Riley's attack still
produced 497 total yards.
"We did some doubling on him,"
Johnson said. "What it does is open up other guys and open up the run game."
Cam Worthy had seven catches
for 115 yards and Breon Allen ran 18 times for 74 yards.
If there was an area to address
going forward, it was ECU's two for 11 performance on third down
conversions.
"The defense played great,"
Carden said. "They were lights out the whole game. When your defense plays
that great, it kind of gets some pressure off of the offense."
Mike linebacker Zeek Bigger and
the defense had the offense's back, limiting the visitors to a pair of field
goals.
"Team defense," Bigger said.
"Everybody played their part. We needed to get back to what we do and we
came out here and did it."
Hardy is Bigger's big brother
and roommate. Hardy estimated he had 30 to 40 family members at the game.
The succinct Hardy talked about
his motivation as a player who had only one Division II scholarship offer,
from Fayetteville State, before McNeill's new staff made him a preferred
walk-on in 2010.
"Don't ever let anybody tell
you you can't do it," said Hardy, who has already graduated with a degree in
sport studies.
He is currently pursuing
another undergraduate degree in industrial technology.
The NFL will know what kind of
toothpaste he uses by the time the draft rolls around.
"The power of it, is that he
has his degree," McNeill said.
Saturday, Deuce added that FBS
career record to his resume.
Hardy has 89 catches for 1,106
yards this season as the Pirates turn their attention to a Friday night AAC
game at Tulsa (8:30 p.m., ESPNU).
E-mail Al Myatt.
PAGE UPDATED
11/23/14 03:44 AM.
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