It took four years for Tennessee Volunteer Running Back, Montario Hardesty to become the starter. His Senior year, which was also his fifth, Hardesty finally got the chance to be the main ball-carrier. The four years previous to that Hardesty did not see a bunch of game time action. He proved to be worthy in '09 though and piled up a mountain of stats.
In his freshman year, Hardesty was granted a medical hardship by the NCAA which gave him an extra year of eligibility. In 2006, Hardesty was back but saw limited action behind some of the upper classmen backs. The same thing followed him in to the 2007 and 2008 Season's.
2009 was a special year for the Volunteer Running Back. Hardesty finally got his chance to shine and be the primary back. He had five games that he went over 100 yards rushing against Western Kentucky, Ohio, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky which was capped off by 14 touchdowns; he also managed to catch the ball 25 times for 300+ yards. Even though he had a relatively great season, Hardesty was stifled in the Chik-Fil-A bowl against Virginia Tech and was held to 48 yards. The Volunteer Running Back still has a lot to prove at the next level considering that he did not have more than one successful year.
Below, we'll look at Hardesty's stats, highlights, and a projection at the bottom of the page.
This video has a plethra of highlights from the past season for Montario Hardesty. If you do not know who he is, I encourage you to take a look. He doesn't necessarily have blazing break away speed but does possess some nice moves to make defenders miss.
AWARDS AND HONORS:
- 2009 First Team All-SEC
CAREER STATS:
| Stats Overview | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||
| YEAR | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| 2005 | 6 | 18 | 3.0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 107 | 384 | 3.6 | 43 | 4 | 6 | 54 | 9.0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 89 | 373 | 4.2 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 76 | 271 | 3.6 | 27 | 6 | 4 | 24 | 6.0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | 282 | 1345 | 4.8 | 43 | 13 | 25 | 302 | 12.1 | 47 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Regular Season Game Log | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
| DATE | OPP | RESULT | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| 9/5 | Western Kentucky | W 63-7 | 18 | 160 | 8.9 | 43 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/12 | UCLA | L 19-15 | 26 | 89 | 3.4 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/19 | @Florida | L 23-13 | 20 | 96 | 4.8 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9/26 | Ohio | W 34-23 | 20 | 140 | 7.0 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/3 | Auburn | L 26-22 | 21 | 90 | 4.3 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 56 | 18.7 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/10 | Georgia | W 45-19 | 20 | 97 | 4.9 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/24 | @Alabama | L 12-10 | 18 | 48 | 2.7 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 66 | 16.5 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10/31 | South Carolina | W 31-13 | 23 | 121 | 5.3 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/7 | Memphis | W 56-28 | 13 | 60 | 4.6 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/14 | @Mississippi | L 42-17 | 14 | 55 | 3.9 | 23 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 3.7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/21 | Vanderbilt | W 31-16 | 32 | 171 | 5.3 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11/28 | @Kentucky | W 30-24 | 39 | 179 | 4.6 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 Postseason Game Log | Rushing | Receiving | Fumbles | |||||||||||
| BOWL | OPP | RESULT | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | REC | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD | FUM | LST |
| Chick-fil-A BOWL | Virginia Tech | L 37-14 | 18 | 39 | 2.2 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 79 | 19.8 | 47 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
SUMMARY AND PROJECTION:
Hardesty is going to be a tough guy to predict on where he will be selected. He did fairly well at the combine but only had the one good season. Going back and looking at game tape, Coache's may not see Hardesty as a homerun threat but more as a power back who can make people miss. How much value is there to that is the question? I am thinking that Hardesty may go in the 3rd or 4th Round but could go as early as the end of the 2nd. It obviously has more to do with luck and team needs more than anything else. Hardesty measured in at the combine at 6'0" and 225 LBS.
Possibilities -- Round 3: Picks 65-95, Round 4: Picks 96-127.