Montario Hardesty Scouting Report

Hardesty's career at Tennessee was slow to take off, in part due to injuries and also as a result of being placed behind other Volunteer running backs on the depth chart. Hardesty tore an ACL in the second game of his freshman season in 2005, so he received a medical redshirt. Although he assumed a backup role in each of the next three seasons, Hardesty still scored a combined 13 touchdowns and led the team with six TDs as a junior in 2008. With the backfield almost all to himself last year, Hardesty burst onto the scene with 1345 yards and 13 touchdowns on 282 carries. He was named to the All-SEC Second Team by both the media and the conference's coaches, while also earning an invite to the Senior Bowl. Hardesty has good size at 6'0, 215 pounds, and he is a load to bring down. He has respectable 4.55 speed in the 40-yard dash, although he has been clocked as fast as 4.47 from that distance. He has impressive cutback ability and frequently makes the first man miss at the line of scrimmage. Furthermore, Hardesty is a valuable pass-catching weapon out of the backfield. He caught 25 passes for 302 yards and one touchdown last season. Hardesty comes with no off-the-field red flags and his injury concerns seem to be a thing of the past. While he does not project as a real star at the next level, Hardesty can make a significant contribution and he can make one right away. Look for him to go off the board in the third or fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.