Center Jake Pruehs lifted Bo Hardy into the air. Hardy pointed heavenward with the rest of the offense as he celebrated Ohio's 36-14 lead.
Hardy was celebrating his first rushing touchdown ever as a Bobcat.
Just two hours earlier, however, he took the game's first snaps at starting safety. Shortly after that, he lined up on special teams as the gunner. Then he took snaps at running back.
It was a whirlwind three hours for the redshirt senior.
“It’s crazy. It’s probably something I’ll tell my kids one day," Hardy said. "Hopefully they look at it and go ‘Oh, cool dad!’ But they probably won’t think it’s as cool as I do.”
Hardy began spring practice trying a new position for the first time in his collegiate career, as he felt the safety position was the best place for him to see the field in his final season as a Bobcat.
But after the running back position was ravaged by injury, Hardy found himself back at his old position.
“Honestly it’s a little bit rusty," he said. "But it’s not nearly as complicated as it was on defense. I never played defense before I switched."
Hardy said running back feels "pretty natural."
"It’s clicking a lot easier than defense," he said. "Running back is a very natural position if you’ve played it for a long time, I think I’ve done pretty well for one week.”
Despite not being the starter, Hardy played in the three games prior to Gardner-Webb at safety. With injuries to the three running backs at the top of the depth chart, Hardy began to take snaps at running back after the Tennessee game.
And after injuries to Papi White and Vinny Emanuele against Gardner-Webb, Hardy was left to bear the entire load of the running offense. Hardy is expected to have a significant amount of playing time at Miami this Saturday.
“Bo kind of stands alone right now," coach Frank Solich said. "We’ll just see how tough Bo is, I guess. He responded really well to that game and played on both sides of the ball very well."
That's not to say Hardy is only in this position because the Bobcats have no choice. Hardy has been used all throughout the lineup this season, playing offense, defense and special teams. He's seen practice reps at kick returner as well.
He also runs the fastest 40-yard dash on the team, clocked at 4.36. His speed was a big factor in Hardy earning a scholarship on the team, after having transferred from Capital University, a Division III school.
His versatility, however, was likely just a bonus.
"What gets hidden is we continue to use him some on special teams, which we’re going to have to take a strong look at," Solich said Monday. "We cut him back last week. We still had him at gunner, and he’s been very valuable there, so how it’ll all play out, we're working on that right now as far as his use and special teams."
Now running back again, Hardy is with his old coordinator and position coach, Tim Albin. However, he said he won't go easy on Hardy, and he's emphasizing the basics.
“I’m probably emphasizing protecting the ball more. He hasn’t carried the ball every day," Albin said. "I went ‘Hey now, you’ve been doing all the hitting, tackling guys. Now you’re gonna have to go into contact and not wrap up and put the ball away.’ Just little things, ball protection.'”
But for Hardy, he'll just have to do what he knows best –– play football.
“I just think about going out there and playing football with my teammates," he said. "Running back is a position I’ve played for a long time, so it’s not like I’m trying to re-learn the playbook or anything I haven’t done before. It’s not difficult in the sense that I’m still a football player. I’ve played this game for 16 years. Through the years, it just kind of makes you better.”
It's unclear right now as to what position Hardy will play in the coming weeks, with running backs returning from injuries. But he's played every side of the ball — he'll be ready for whatever and whenever he's called.
