Daequan Keith Hardy (born June 13, 2001)[1] is an American football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State.
| No. 25 – Buffalo Bills | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | June 13, 2001 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Height: | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight: | 178 lb (81 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Penn Hills (Penn Hills, Pennsylvania) |
| College: | Penn State (2020–2023) |
| NFL draft: | 2024 / Round: 6 / Pick: 219 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Active |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Player stats at PFR | |
Early life and high school
Hardy attended high school at Penn Hills. In Hardy's senior season, he amassed a total of 22 touchdowns.[2] Hardy helped led his team to a stille title, as in the game he scored four touchdowns, two receiving, an 84-yard kickoff return, and a 100-yard pick six, as he also intercepted three passes in the game.[3] Coming out of high school, Hardy was rated as a three-star recruit, where he decided to commit to play college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions.[4][5]
College career
In Hardy's first career season in 2020, he tallied ten tackles, three pass deflections, and a sack.[6] In 2021, Hardy had 15 tackles, with three going for a loss, a sack, six pass deflections, two interceptions, and a touchdown.[7] During the 2022 season, Hardy notched 13 tackles with half a tackle being for a loss, half a sack, four pass deflections, an interceptions, and a forced fumble.[8] In week seven of the 2023 season, Hardy returned two punts for touchdowns in a win over UMass.[9] His two touchdowns, was a single game school record for punt return touchdowns.[10] Hardy finished the 2023 season totaling 22 tackles with three going for a loss, a sack, seven pass deflections, and two interceptions, while also returning 17 punts for 248 yards and two touchdowns.[11] For his performance on the 2023 season, Hardy was named third team all Big-Ten.[12] After the conclusion of the 2023 season, Hardy declared for the 2024 NFL draft.[13][14]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 9+3⁄8 in (1.76 m) | 179 lb (81 kg) | 30 in (0.76 m) | 8+1⁄8 in (0.21 m) | 4.38 s | 1.50 s | 2.56 s | 4.17 s | 7.17 s | 42.5 in (1.08 m) | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) | 15 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day[15][16][17] | ||||||||||||
Hardy was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 219th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft.[18]