[OldSchool]

Nice article on Justin Hardy: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-sh...214625186.html

Growing up, East Carolina wide receiver and NFL draft prospect Justin Hardy had Jerry Rice as his football icon. He loved everything about Rice and the way he played. But for Hardy, looking up to Rice meant more than just having a San Francisco 49ers No. 80 jersey or buying his football cards or playing with him on video games.

It meant emulating Rice in every way, and for Hardy this meant spending his downtime catching bricks.

View photo
.Justin Hard at the Senior Bowl. (USA TODAY Sports)
Justin Hard at the Senior Bowl. (USA TODAY Sports)

One day in elementary school, Hardy read how when Rice was growing up he would work with his father, a brick mason, and got strong hands by catching bricks tossed to him from his father. So Hardy went out and found a brick of his own so he could begin down a path he hoped would take him to the NFL. Since his father wasn't a brick mason Hardy would have a friend stand a few feet away and underhand toss him a brick.

He'd try to catch it dead on with a full grip, just like Rice would. Then he'd toss it back and repeat.

Over and over and over again.

“After school, weekends, whenever I could,” Hardy said. “In the summer when you're looking for things to do we'd do that.”

It was painstaking stuff but the player who one day would become one of the most prolific wide receivers in college football last year knew it would be worth it, even if no one else thought much about him.

Hardy didn't get any BCS scholarship offers despite being a standout quarterback at West Craven High School in Vanceboro, N.C. East Carolina offered him the chance to walk on and he spent a year as a redshirt getting stronger in the weight room and working on the scout team. His ability to make plays was undeniable. The following spring he received a scholarship as a reward for the progress he made. Hardy, who doesn't say much and shuns attention, was thrilled that his parents wouldn't have to worry about paying for his education.

The story is similar to that of Rice, who didn't have a single major college program offer him a scholarship out of high school and played his college football at Mississippi Valley State University, far off the beaten path of powerhouse programs. Like his role model growing up, Hardy turned being overlooked into some head-turning plays.

During his last three seasons at East Carolina, Hardy topped 1,000 receiving yards each season. Now he is one of the more interesting wide receivers in the draft.

Last year as a senior, he had 121 receptions for 1,494 yards with 10 touchdowns. He ran a 4.56 time in the 40-yard dash and a three-cone drill time of 6.63 seconds at the NFL scouting combine, numbers that will help his draft stock.

He always had dreams of playing in the NFL and even when the big colleges didn't come knocking with offers, he continued to work. Hardy has been training for the draft at TEST Football Academy since January and he senses that he is closing in on his childhood dream of playing in the league.

It's a rewarding feeling for a young man who grew up catching bricks and didn't let the college recruiting process keep him down. Instead, he turned all those bricks he caught as a boy into a road of success.

“I never second-guessed, I just worked harder to pursue my goals,” Hardy said. “I just want to get an opportunity to be on a team and play a lot of years in the NFL. That's all I want.”