James Hardy (American football)

James W. Hardy, III (born December 24, 1985) is an American football wide receiver who is currently a member of the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft and played college football at Indiana University.

High School career
Hardy attended Elmhurst High School, where he played football and basketball. As a senior, he posted 34 catches for 710 yards and 10 touchdowns and was a Class 4A all-state selection by the Indiana Football Coaches Association.

As a basketball player, he was runner-up in the Mr. Basketball voting and an Indiana All-Star. He ranks high on the list for the city scoring record for Fort Wayne, with over 2,000 points during his four years at Elmhurst. Hardy led Elmhurst to a state championship appearance his senior. However, Elmhurst was defeated by Bishop Chatard High School from Indianapolis.

Hardy was also a two-time winner of the Tiffany Gooden award.

College career
Hardy redshirted as a true freshman in 2004. As a redshirt freshman in 2005, he posted 61 catches for 893 yards and 10 touchdowns. His play earned him a Freshman All-America selection.

He followed his stellar freshman season with another good one as he hauled in 51 passes for 722 yards and 10 touchdowns and was named Second Team All-Big Ten for a second straight year. His 20 career receiving touchdowns in his first two years had tied him with Ernie Jones (1984–1987) for second on the university's all-time list, trailing only Jade Butcher (1967–1969) and his 30 career TD grabs.

As a junior, Hardy caught 74 catches for 1,075 yards—ranking third in the Big Ten in both categories—and became the Hoosiers' all-time receiving leader in touchdowns (36), yards (2,690) and receptions (186). He was selected first team All-Big Ten selection, a Fred Biletnikoff Award semifinalist and the team's most valuable player.

During his time at Indiana, Hardy also played on the basketball team for two years.

In January 2008, Hardy declared himself eligible for the 2008 NFL Draft, saying "I have reached the pinnacle of my college football career".

Pre-draft
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Hardy was a top 10 performer in the bench press, broad jump, 3-cone drill, and 20-yard shuttle. In the bench press Hardy finished 9th among WRs with 18 reps at 225 pounds. Hardy finished 8th in the broad jump with a distance of 10'5". He finished 7th in the 3-cone drill with a time of 6.84 seconds. He also finished tied for 7th in the 20-yard shuttle with a time of 4.20 seconds. Official 40-yard dash was 4.49.

Buffalo Bills
Hardy was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the second round (41st overall) of the 2008 NFL Draft. He signed a multi-year contract with the team on July 24.

On September 14, 2008, in his second game, Hardy caught his first touchdown late in a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He finished the campaign with 9 catches for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Hardy played in only 2 games all season in 2009, catching 1 pass for 9 yards.

On September 4, 2010 Hardy was released by the Bills.

Baltimore Ravens
On January 17, 2011 Hardy was signed to a reserve/future contract by the Baltimore Ravens.

However, he practiced very little with the Ravens during the 2011 training camp due to chronic hamstring problems, the same injury that nagged him while with the Bills. He was released by the Ravens on 5 September 2011; he has yet to get another shot with an NFL club, as of the 2012 offseason.