James Hardy returns to IU to get his degree with football still on his mind

James Hardy always planned to earn his college degree.

There was never a doubt in his mind, not even when he left IU for the NFL after his junior year in 2008.

He said it was a dream of his to play professional football, but he also has other ambitions — ambitions that require him to graduate from college.

The former IU wide receiver and new member of the Baltimore Ravens is back in Bloomington this semester to finish his final 12 credit hours and to train for
next season.

Hardy also took six online classes while playing for the Buffalo Bills in 2008
and 2009.

“This is the best decision I’ve ever made in my life,” said Hardy, whose classes include theater and acting, bowling, ballroom dancing and public speaking. “When I left, I had everything set up for me to come back. School was always on my mind. I’ve always just enjoyed learning. Now with the lockout in place, I felt this was the perfect time to come back.”

Rookie highs and lows
After leaving IU as the Hoosiers’ all-time receiving leader in touchdowns (36), yards (2,690) and receptions (186), Hardy’s confidence was at an all-time high.

He was drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2008 draft (41st overall), and he said he felt ready to prove he could produce at the next level.

Early in his rookie season, he did.

Hardy caught his first career touchdown pass in just his second career game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. His ego began to inflate. Hardy was headed for stardom — or so he thought.

“I’m thinking I’m about to be a pro-bowl superstar,” he said. “That’s what was going through my mind.”

Hardy was having fun. He used his first paycheck to take his grandma and his parents to Vegas so they could “see the bright lights.”

But after such a successful start, Hardy suddenly received the wake-up call of
his life.

He tore a ligament in his left knee in December of his rookie campaign and struggled for the remainder of the season. He caught only nine passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns on the year.

The next season was even worse.

Hardy suffered from a sports hernia and couldn’t recover as quickly as expected. When he was finally healthy, he sat the bench.

For the year, he had one catch for nine yards.

“It’s tough. With the career he had at Indiana, you expect great things from him,” said former IU receiver Terrance Turner, a former teammate of Hardy. “That just teaches you anything can happen in the NFL. It’s all about productivity. Injuries happen, so you just have to take advantage of things when they come your way.”

‘I’m glad it happened this way’
Hardy admits now he didn’t know what to do when the injuries hit. He was lost. He felt the Bills organization losing faith in him.

For the first time, Hardy couldn’t be the athletic star he had always been.

“It was one of the most difficult times of my life,” he said. “I had never been injured. I was just curious, I didn’t understand. Why now? I had personal goals that I wanted to attain. When that didn’t happen, it made me look at life totally different.”

During his extensive rehab process, Hardy prayed a lot. He desperately needed guidance, but he couldn’t find any.

But as time went on, Hardy began to turn a negative into a positive. He said he began to believe he had to go through the bad days to experience the good ones again.

“I feel that I got hurt just so God could show me the things that he’s shown me,” the Elmhurst High School (Fort Wayne) product said. “If I would have had success right out of the gate, I wouldn’t see what I see now.”

Former IU wide receivers coach Billy Lynch said Hardy is a new person after going through his injury battles.

Lynch and Hardy still talk on a regular basis. Before Lynch left for his new job at Rice University in Texas, the two had a two-hour conversation at Lynch’s house about football and life.

“He’s learned so much about life in general,” Lynch said. “When we have this conversation five years from now, I think we’ll look back and say it was the best thing that ever happened to him.”

A new opportunity
Hardy said he knew the day was coming. He hadn’t produced in Buffalo, and he expected to get cut.

Even so, Bills general manager Buddy Nix’s words hurt. They meant that Hardy had been a failure in the eyes of the Bills organization.

“When stuff like that happens, you know what’s coming,” the 6-5, 220-pound Hardy said. “But I took it like a man. I didn’t show any emotions. I know I’m going to be great. Not one organization and not one person is going to make me believe that I’m not.”

Hardy said he doesn’t feel any animosity toward Buffalo. In retrospect, he’s thankful the Bills cut him when they did so he could find a new home.

But at the time, Hardy struggled to collect himself. He realized he was going to have to start all over and prove himself worthy of being signed.

Hardy said he worked out for seven NFL teams and received contract offers from all of them.

That’s when he had a lengthy discussion with Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome. Newsome told Hardy that he and Ray Rice were on their draft board in 2008. Hardy was off the board by the time Baltimore was on the clock at No. 55 in the second round, so the Ravens went with Rice.

Hardy said he liked Newsome because he believed in the young receiver, despite all he had been through.

“He doesn’t know what happened in Buffalo and he doesn’t care,” Hardy said of Newsome. “He said he wants to be in a partnership with me to make my dreams
come true.”

Still a Hoosier
Hardy said part of the reason he came back to Bloomington now was to see how the new coaching staff was running the IU program.

He’s said he is still very much a Hoosier at heart and wants to see his school make it back to a bowl game.

To help the Hoosiers do that, Hardy has spent time teaching IU receiver Damarlo Belcher about his experiences.

“I wanted to help him with all the things I have learned,” Hardy said. “I have taken him under my wing as a littler brother because I wish I had somebody like that when I was here.”

Hardy said he is determined to make it to the top. He rises at 5:30 a.m. each morning and is out on the football field by 7 a.m. to begin training for the day.

He finally has a second chance at his dream, and he doesn’t plan on needing
another one.

“This is a game where only the stars survive,” Hardy said. “All the greats get cut at one point in time.

“Not on my watch will that happen to me again.”