When Newton’s Atavius Hardy walks onto the high school football field, he’s not likely to draw the attention of most people.
After all, Hardy is only 5-foot-6 and 190 pounds.
But let the whistle blow and action start and it’s easy to find Hardy wreaking havoc on opposing offenses.
“When they turn on the tape and see his heart, he will convince somebody to take a chance on him,” Newton coach Zach Grady said. “The good Lord didn’t bless him with height but he put a big heart in him. He’s like a Volkswagen Beetle with an F-150 motor.”
Grady had nothing but praise for Hardy, who will be a senior this season and be a four-year starter for the Tigers.
“He is a great young man,” Grady said. “He’s the kind of kid as a coach that he mimics what you are trying to build in a program. He shows up every day, does everything you ask him to do, works hard, leader and it transitions onto the field. A lot of times you have kids that say the right thing but they just can’t play. But he can play. He has all of those attributes and he can play. He’s just short. You can’t get them all. If he had them all, he’d be a Division I player.”
Last year, Hardy recorded 59 tackles for the Tigers from his nose guard position. He will return to nose guard and will also play multiple times on offense.
“He has started as a ninth grader and will be a four-year starter on defense for us,” Grady said. “He is an outstanding player and will have a big role for us this year. He will be all over the place for us on offense and defense. He will be at nose guard and will play guard for us and even some fullback in short-yardage situations.”
Because of his size and quickness, Hardy gave opposing offenses and centers trouble last year.
“He gave people fits last year at noseguard,” Grady said. “We switched to a five-man front and he was one of the guys that gave us the spark up front because centers couldn’t handle his quickness or his motor. The leadership is tremendous. It doesn’t matter if we are up or down, he has the same motor and attitude, no matter what the score. He’s going to give you the same thing.”
While the Tigers struggled on the field last year, Hardy said he has seen an increased energy in the weight room this offseason.
“We have come back with a mentality 10 times harder and just trying to be better every day,” Hardy said. “The offseason has been crazy with the corona virus but when we came back, we have all been working hard. You can feel the change. It’s a different atmosphere. Everybody is coming to work and attacking the work and not going through the motions. People want to be here.”
Grady has also seen that hunger from his players this offseason, especially from Hardy.
“Hungry is a good word for him,” Grady said. “He wants to win and wants to be good. He calls me two or three times a week asking how we are going to attack this or how we are going to attack that. He’s like another member of the coaching staff. When you are coaching, when a kid gets to that senior year, you want them to be in that role as far as transitioning to think about the overall team instead of individual goals.His goals are all about the team. He’s a team guy. It’s not all about him. He’s concerned about the other guys and how well they are doing. You have some guys who bark at kids and think that is leadership and tell them what they aren’t doing but he’s a guy who is going to encourage and build up instead of trying to tear down. He’s doing it by example. He brings it and leads by example.”
Hardy realizes he needs to be a leader for the Tigers this season.
“I have to be a leader this year,” Hardy said. “I have to be a leader in tackles every game, that’s mandatory. My best position is nose guard. I’m so small, I use my height to my advantage. Some may say it’s a disadvantage but I say it’s an advantage. I’m small and quick. I use my quickness to my advantage and it makes it difficult on the offensive line.”
While Hardy might not be tall in stature, he’s a men among boys in the weight room. Hardy can bench 295 pounds, squat 560 pounds and power clean 225 pounds. Grady said because of his size, playing at the next level will be difficult for Hardy, who already has a brother playing at Alcorn State.
“He is an undersized kid but I think he could be an H-back or a fullback at the next level,” Grady said. “If somebody is looking for a good football player that is going to be a team guy and a program guy, I would take him. You need guys to mimic the culture that you want, no matter how much talent you bring to your college team, if they don’t mimic what you want in a college program, you don’t have anything. I think anybody that signs that kid is going to get that.
“I don’t think will be a problem for him to find a home, it’s just a matter of what position he is going to play. He may have to try out somewhere and get on at a junior college and then go play at a Division II or III school. It happens all the time. You want guys that want to play football and will do what want them to do and he’s one of those guys.”
Hardy is an honor roll student who made 22 on the ACT and said he would like to seek a degree in the medical field.
“I plan on going to college and being a nurse,” Hardy said. “I’m going to try to get a football scholarship but if I don’t, just keep on working. Ever since I was young, I have wanted to help people and I think being a nurse is something I could do that would help people.”
In the end, it’s not individual goals that matter for Hardy.
“My main goal is to get my guys to play as one and come together,” Hardy said. “That’s my main goal is to get everybody to play together as one. As for myself, I would like more than 80 tackles, at the very least. If I am going hard, they are going to want to go hard. If I don’t go hard, they aren’t going to want to go hard so I have to go hard every play to keep everybody else going.”
