Daequan Hardy

Daequan Hardy
No. 25 – Buffalo Bills
Position:	Cornerback
Personal information
Born:	June 13, 2001 (age 23); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height:	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Weight:	178 lb (81 kg)
Career information
High school:	Penn Hills (Penn Hills, Pennsylvania)
College:	Penn State (2020–2023)
NFL draft:	2024 / round: 6 / pick: 219
Career history
	Buffalo Bills (2024–present)*;
	* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:	Practice squad
Career highlights and awards
	Second-team All-Big Ten (2023);
	Player stats at PFR

Daequan Keith Hardy (born June 13, 2001)^[1] is an American professional football cornerback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State.

Early life and high school

Hardy attended high school at Penn Hills. In Hardy's senior season, he amassed a total of 22 touchdowns.^[2] Hardy helped led his team to a stille title, as in the game he scored four touchdowns, two receiving, an 84-yard kickoff return, and a 100-yard pick six, as he also intercepted three passes in the game.^[3] Coming out of high school, Hardy was rated as a three-star recruit, where he decided to commit to play college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions.^[4]^[5]

College career

In Hardy's first career season in 2020, he tallied ten tackles, three pass deflections, and a sack.^[6] In 2021, Hardy had 15 tackles, with three going for a loss, a sack, six pass deflections, two interceptions, and a touchdown.^[7] During the 2022 season, Hardy notched 13 tackles with half a tackle being for a loss, half a sack, four pass deflections, an interceptions, and a forced fumble.^[8] In week seven of the 2023 season, Hardy returned two punts for touchdowns in a win over UMass.^[9] His two touchdowns, was a single game school record for punt return touchdowns.^[10] Hardy finished the 2023 season totaling 22 tackles with three going for a loss, a sack, seven pass deflections, and two interceptions, while also returning 17 punts for 248 yards and two touchdowns.^[11] For his performance on the 2023 season, Hardy was named third team all Big-Ten.^[12] After the conclusion of the 2023 season, Hardy declared for the 2024 NFL draft.^[13]^[14]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height	Weight	Arm length	Hand span	40-yard dash	10-yard split	20-yard split	20-yard shuttle	Three-cone drill	Vertical jump	Broad jump	Bench press
5 ft 9+3⁄8 in (1.76 m)	179 lb (81 kg)	30 in (0.76 m)	8+1⁄8 in (0.21 m)	4.38 s	1.50 s	2.56 s	4.17 s	7.17 s	42.5 in (1.08 m)	10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)	15 reps
All values from NFL Combine/Pro Day^[15]^[16]^[17]

Hardy was selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 219th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft.^[18] He was released as part of final roster cuts on August 27,^[19] then later added back to the practice squad.^[20]