Hardaway has ‘intangibles’ that D-1 teams look for
THE ELITE 11 CLASS OF 2021: This is the fourth part of an 11-part series highlighting the top football players in the Newton County Appeal coverage area for the upcoming season. Local coaches nominated the players, while the Elite 11 preseason football team is selected solely by Newton County Appeal sports editor Robbie Robertson. The players are being revealed one at a time, in no particular order.
On most teams, Newton County’s Koye Hardaway would easily be an outside linebacker.
But the 6-foot-1, 193-pounder will be a secondary player for the Cougars. But that’s what makes Hardaway a Division I prospect and the latest addition to The Newton County Appeal’s Elite 11.
Hardaway is a physically imposing figure for the Cougars and has everything needed to play at the next level. Head coach Bobby Bass said Hardaway is the very definition of a shutdown secondary player, whether it’s at cornerback or safety.
“Koye has all of the intangibles that colleges look for,” Bass said. “He has the height, especially for a defensive back, secondary guy. He has the length and a really long wingspan; I think it’s like 6-3. He has all of those things and he has never shied away from putting him on the other team’s best guy, their best vertical threat or whoever it is that we have schemed for that week.”
While Hardaway looks the part of a Division I player, the offers aren’t there yet. He currently has junior college offers from East Central, Coahoma, Jones and Northwest.
“I think it’s just a matter of him going to all of these camps and coaches getting an eye on him,” Bass said. “Coach Pollard at Jones was the first guy to offer him. He told him that he was going to go ahead and offer him but told him he was a D1 athlete. He told him he didn’t think that he would ever get a chance to coach him. It’s just going to be somebody putting their eyes on him and seeing what he can do. I’ve coached a lot of D1 athletes and he is one of them.”
Bass said he’s coached several Division I athletes and Hardaway is very comparable to those players.
“I’m telling you, he’s a prototypical Division I guy,” Bass said. “He can play in the secondary and cover the best receivers in high school. He can play the safety role and roll down in the box. He will tackle you and he’s a good tackler. He is physical and doesn’t mind hitting you at all. And he can really run. He’s a 4.5 guy and runs track.”
Bass, who also calls the defense and was a defensive coordinator at previous stops, said Hardaway would fit into some of the modern-day schemes being used today in college football.
To me, everybody runs these 3-4 schemes with these star backers like Minkah Fitzpatrick (who is also 6-foot-1 and weighs 205 pounds),” Bass said. “He’s a prototypical kind of guy in that scheme because he never has to come off the field. He can play third and long and those type of situations. When he gets to college, I expect him to put on 15-20 pounds of muscle so I expect him to end up being 215. That’s a big secondary guy. He’s got a huge upside.”
While his future lies on the defensive side of the football, Hardaway will also play receiver for the Cougars this season.
“He will play receiver for us as well,” Bass said. “That’s one thing that he really needs to work on this summer. He really needs to work on his ball catching skills which he has done that and he has gotten better. He has got to progress there. We need another vertical threat opposite of Tyron. If he can establish himself there, it makes us really hard to defend on offense. When you have those two outside threats, being able to utilize guys in those roles, it would help us tremendously on offense. Now we aren’t running into a nine-man box.”
Hardaway said he knows he needs to work harder on his ball skills this offseason.
“I have to step up, especially on offense,” Hardaway said. “I think I could play Division 1. I’ve just got to work harder than everyone else and continue to push myself and my teammates and try to do everything better. I’m not much of a talker. I try to lead by example. My role will be to take away the best outside receiver and any vertical threats. I’ll cover the best guy every Friday night. On offense, I just need to play my role and make plays when I get a chance.”
While Hardaway may be a standout on the field, he’s a silent leader.
“He’s not a ra-ra guy,” Bass said. “He’s honest when he says that he doesn’t talk a lot. He just basically goes out there and does his job. He is not scared to go against someone on a Friday night. He looks at it as a chance to go make a name for himself.”
Hardaway also runs track for the Cougars in the 4x100 and 4x200 meter relays. Hardaway said he was last clocked at 4.55 in the 40-yard dash.
