Countdown to Justin Hardy: Another Day at the Office

He makes it look easy, effortless even.

Justin Hardy hasn't really dominated any one game this season--until today. He's been important, but he hasn't been the only weapon on the ECU Pirates' high-powered offense. Hardy took over today, however, reminding that he's the Pirates' main weapon. Reigning in 8 catches for 120 and 3 TDs, he also continued his march toward breaking the FBS all-time reception record held by Oklahoma’s Ryan Broyles (346).  He's just 46 receptions away.

The Man with the Golden Gloves: Justin Hardy

C3 is always working hard to scout talent that we believe would help the Carolina Panthers in the future.  Often this talent is in our own backyard.  It's the reason we started the "Backyard Ballers" series last season. This season, C3 has gone further by launching the official "C3 Countdown 2 Justin Hardy" campaign, where hope to bring Freak Magic, aka "the Man with the Golden Gloves," to the Queen City.  Adding Hardy to the Panthers would compliment the gigantic Kelvin Benjamin and give Cam a new weapon in a clearly unsolidified receiving core.

Backyard Baller: ECU's Justin Hardy

#123498210 / gettyimages.com

Panther Nation give a warm welcome for C3's newest contributor, Gerin Honeycutt, a journalism major from East Carolina University.  Most important, however, this up and coming sports journalist is one of us, a die hard Panther fan!  Give it up for the newest member of the Crew and leave a comment for his first story! 

Don’t beat yourself up Panther fans, your next great wide receiver could be right under your nose. Well, 250 miles east under your nose at East Carolina University. Greenville, North Carolina is where NFL recruiters have discovered what two years ago would have been considered a “diamond in the rough.” Enter current ECU Wide Receiver/Punt Returner Justin Hardy. After a jaw dropping sixty-four reception, 658 yard, six touchdown and Conference USA All-Freshman team campaign, Hardy has done nothing but amass two seasons of inspired offensive production—202   receptions and 2,389 yards, averaging over a first down every time he catches the ball and let’s not forget those nineteen touchdowns. Consistent play like this has elevated the 6’1 190 lb Hardy off the list of NFL possible gems and onto a lot of NFL recruiter’s top wide receiver’s board for the 2015 draft.

Backyard Ballers: Interview with Jimmy Legree, former Gamecock Corner

LIVE MONDAY, 4/28 @10 PM!

BACKYARD BALLER JIMMY "INSTINCT" LEGREE

Jimmy Legree, former SC #Gamecock  and NFL prospect, joins the C3 crew to talk about his college career, preparing for the NFL, the #USC  pro day, and the #Carolina  #Panthers. Check C3's player profile on Jimmy Legree from our "Backyard Ballers" series. 

Backyard Ballers: Carolina Gamecock Jimmy Legree

Jimmy Legree was a good corner for the Carolina Gamecocks for several years and spent the vast majority of his time as a starter after redshirting during his freshman season. In 2012 and 2013, Jimmy was an integral part of their defensive backfield.

When he came out of high school, he was either a 2- or 3-star recruit. Translation: decent player but probably won't be a star.

Inserted as the starting free safety in 2011 after a strong 2-pick showing in the spring game, Legree struggled and after two games the young player was used on special teams and from the bench.

In 2012, he moved to the cornerback position and that's where he hit his stride. Not letting his uneven play from 2011 keep him down, he got back up and went right at it with gusto. It didn't take him long to prove to the Head Ball Coach that he could cover wide receivers and appeared in every game since then, sharing time at the position with teammate Akeem Auguste.

You've gotta admire a guy who faces adversity, gets knocked down, gets back up, and is better than ever for it. It demonstrates character, resilience, and a can-do attitude that every NFL team desires in their players.

Backyard Ballers: Furman's Dakota Dozier

Hey gang. So far in our "Backyard Ballers" we've had two from S.C. and just Monday my fellow friends here at C-cubed did a great job interviewing Wake Forest WR Mike Campanaro.

Today I'm going to take a look at a guy who has a lot working against him - small school, unsexy position, and learning a new position in the NFL.

Dakota Dozier played left tackle at tiny Furman University - it's a small school in the upstate of South Carolina which has actually been a powerhouse over the years in their area of the pond.

Like many smaller-school tackles, Dozier is a guy who projects as a guard in the NFL. Remember, Amini Silatolu was the same way from Midwestern State and each season the NFL sees several college tackles coming in being drafted as interior linemen. 

Carolina Panthers Backyard Ballers: USC's WR Bruce Ellington

Backyard Baller: Bruce Ellington 

In this series' initial installment, I took a look at Clemson's offensive lineman Brandon Thomas and how he may project to the NFL, but the recent bad news on him is that he tore his ACL in training.

Now, we move to in-state rival University of South Carolina and have a look at one of the "other" players on their roster....someone whose last name doesn't rhyme with "frowney."

I did attend South Carolina's Pro Day last week, so I got to see him run his routes and catch some passes from QB Connor Shaw, so at least I did get an unfettered view of him in a comparison with his fellow WRs and the guy did stand out with crisp routes in general and smooth in his cuts.

That said, you have to give anyone's game tape a lot more weight than a few "backyard" pass patterns in shorts and a t-shirt without defenders. That was about the only drill he did, positional or otherwise, that I was able to see very well. There were literally hundreds and hundreds of other people all over the field.

We all know about Jadeveon Clowney, undoubtedly the premier athlete at ANY position in this year's NFL draft. In fact, it has been a number of years since such a freakish, productive college football player has entered his name into the hat for the next level.

But football is a team sport - again, as we all know - and several Gamecocks have been slowly but surely creeping up the draft board since the NFL combine.

Ellington is one of those guys.

First, let's review his vitals: He's only 5'9" but weighs in at 197 lbs, making him a very solidly-built young man very reminiscent of ex-Carolina Panther Captain Munnerlyn (5'8" 195 lbs.).

Bruce ran a 4.45 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, demonstrating very good speed for the position. He recorded 15 bench press repetitions at 225 lbs, showing very nice strength for a wide receiver prospect which puts a number of sorts on his frame and his strength for his stature. With a 39 1/2 inch vertical jump, ten feet even on the broad jump, a sub-4 seconds in the short shuttle and a very quick 6.69 seconds in the 3-cone, he shows agility equal  to his strength and speed.

Put this all together, and he compares well to another ex-Panther named Steve Smith.

Usually, smaller guys like Ellington (or Smitty) are relegated to the slot at the NFL level, but Ellington's strength may mean he's an exception to that general rule. It all depends on what team and system he finds himself in.

With that in mind, let's take a look at his strengths and weaknesses.

Carolina Panthers' Backyard Ballers: Clemson's Left Tackle Brandon Thomas

This is the first of a series of articles, titled Backyard Ballers, which will spotlight draft prospects from the Carolinas.  As a fan focused site, we too love our hometown boys.  Let's cheer those backyard ballers and follow them in their transition from Carolina colleges to the pros.  We wish they call could become successful Panthers one day, but we know that is unrealistic.  Their path may not go through Charlotte, but they will always be Carolina ballers to us!

Brandon Thomas, Clemson LT. 

We've all heard of Clemson University's Sammy Watkins of course. He's considered the top prospect in the entire nation at wide receiver and in a class replete with talent at the position. He and in-state rival Jadeveon Clowney get all the (non-quarterback) press, and frankly it's unusual for the state of South Carolina to have so much attention on multiple kids heading into the draft.

With so much attention on Watkins, Clemson's offensive guard Brandon Thomas has largely escaped the spotlight and that's exactly why I wanted to do a little digging to see what I could find out about him so I could relay that info to you, our loyal readers.

Also, since the Carolina Panthers are in need of an offensive lineman - or three - there remains a very good possibility that they could write down Thomas' name on a draft card in May, so let's take a look, shall we?

Carolina Panthers: Trading Experience for Hope

The Carolina Panthers aren’t known for making a whole lot of noise in the off season. Being the second youngest team in the NFL, they tend to just sit back and prepare for the draft. That’s exactly what was expected in the 2014 off-season, but what Panther fan’s got was the complete opposite.

Carolina ended the 2013/14 season with a winning record and a trip to the playoffs, where they were embarrassed on their home turf against the San Francisco 49ers. It’s a tough loss that will haunt the team and fans forever.

On the bright side, the Panthers finally had a solid foundation to build an excellent football team. However, due to egos, politics, and money, the Panthers successfully got rid of half of their starters, including the man who brought passion and fire to the offense, Steve Smith. Nobody will ever know the truth about what happened behind closed doors, but from a fan’s perspective, it looks as though the Panthers are giving up already on next season. With the export of players exceeding the amount of players imported, the Panthers need to really do their homework and make every pick in the 2014 NFL draft count. The Panthers need to focus on the later round picks to try and sniff out the talent that might be flying under the radar, such as a Michael Campanaro from Wake Forest.