Justin Hardy Watch: ECU vs Virginia Tech

Coming off a tough loss to the +South Carolina Gamecocks, the ECU Pirates faced another tough road challenge in Blacksburg against +Virginia Tech.   This time, Justin Hardy matched up against a top-rate secondary led by sophomore standout Kendall Fuller. The "Man with the Golden Gloves" only showed up for the 1st half, registering 4 receptions for 47 yards.  The Pirates exploded in the 1st quarter, putting up 21 on big plays through the air.  Hardy was having a solid half, even against the tough corner, but the "Man with Golden Gloves,"disappeared into the locker room at half-time and didn't return.  Justin Hardy came back, but he had exchanged his gold gloves for a pair of purple and black. There seemed to be some psychological effect with this change as the Pirates offense simply fell asleep.  Usually one would think that Hardy disappeared, but this was really more a result of poor quarterback play and offensive play calling.  The Pirate quarterback finished 23/47, missing Hardy twice in the second half.  Carden rediscovered his mojo in a last minute drive to win to end a 3 quarter scoring drought.

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.