Mecole Hardman knows he was close in 2017. Now, it's time to return a punt for a touchdown
Mecole Hardman came close. Really close.
On a good number of his 23 punt returns last season, Hardman would routinely pass the first wave of defenders. But just when you thought he was about to break free, he was brought down – whether it was from a tackler coming across the field or due to someone not holding onto a block long enough.
The fact that Hardman didn’t log a punt return touchdown in 2017 isn’t lost on the rising junior from Elberton. When he was reminded of this fact, he smiled and laughed in acknowledgment.
He’s aware and so are his teammates. In 2018, Hardman wants the stat sheet to show a touchdown in the punt return row.
“You go back and watch the film and I’m one block away, or I’m one cut away,” Hardman said. “It was very close. It was my first year doing it and I was seeing different things out there. Definitely, this year I should take a couple back – I’m hoping. Watching the film and just going over the mistakes, correcting everything, I have a better plan coming forward. We’re working hard right now.”
While he didn’t return a touchdown, Hardman did a great job in ensuring great field position for the Bulldogs. He averaged 11.8 yards per return, which ranked first in the SEC and eighth nationally. While Hardman was technically the SEC's leader, Texas A&M’s Christian Kirk averaged 19.1 yards per return but only had 10 attempts for the season. Therefore, Kirk was ineligible for the end-of-season statistical leaderboard.
Hardman played a big role in Georgia’s overall turnaround on special teams. His teammates would certainly love to see it pay off with at least one score.
“Mecole, he’s getting close,” safety J.R. Reed said. “I don’t know what to say about that because we got a lot of guys out there blocking their tail off for this man. He’s got to put it all together and score one. He’s going to get one this year. He might get a couple. I just feel it. We take pride in blocking hard and take pride in our special teams.”
Hardman said he catches some flak from his teammates when his punt return clips come on in the film room. They’ll see the shifty returner make a couple men miss and appear ready to take it to the opposing team’s end zone, only to be brought down by a final defender.
Hardman scored touchdowns running and receiving the ball a year ago. He’d love nothing more than to add a punt return score to his name.
“My teammates get onto me a lot, especially if we watch the old film, and I miss something or I didn’t break a tackle, you can hear the whole crowd,” he said. “They all give me a hard time but it’s all love and motivation. They know how hard that job is and what it takes to be back there and catching the ball. Anything can happen at any given time. I think they trust me back there and trust me to do my thing.”
This story was originally published April 11, 2018 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Mecole Hardman knows he was close in 2017. Now, it's time to return a punt for a touchdown."