University of Tennessee Athletics
Spin Cycle: Inside Montario Hardesty's Favorite Move
November 06, 2009 | Football
Nov. 6, 2009
BY DREW EDWARDS
UTSports.com
Rico McCoy insists he hasn't been a victim, but he's seen more than his share on the football field this fall.
Whether it's an opposing defender grasping at air or a teammate whiffing during practice, McCoy's seen Tennessee running back Montario Hardesty make plenty of players look more than a little foolish.
And most of the time it involves the spin move that's quickly becoming Hardesty's trademark.
"Man, when we see it, we're just like, `He did it again. There he goes again, embarrassing somebody,' " McCoy said. "Good thing he's on our team. That's what we're thinking the whole time because he does some crazy things."
Last week, he froze South Carolina's Chris Culliver with the move on a 14-yard touchdown run. Last month, it was Auburn's Walter McFadden who went crashing to the ground as Hardesty whirled away and cut back for a 31-yard touchdown on a screen pass.
Hardesty's been busy posterizing players this fall, but the move is hardly new. He's been spinning since he started playing football, and his running backs coach at New Bern (N.C.) High School was a big proponent of the spin move, too.
"We used to work on the hit-and-spin," Hardesty said. "Not just out in the field spinning, but using that as a move (to break tackles) like the shoulder boom."
That's one of the reasons why the spin move is working so well for Hardesty this fall. He's the Vols' best short-yardage back because he isn't afraid to get physical, and he has a knack for adding a punishing exclamation point to the end of his runs.
If they slow down to square him up, Hardesty can overpower them. If they come in fast for the big hit, Hardesty can hit them with the spin. And if they hesitate, it's even worse.
"It has to keep you on your toes," McCoy says. "They want to fly in and hit him because if they sit flat-footed, he might run them over. But then they don't want to sit there because he might just hit `em with a move.
"He's a bad boy."
But it's been all good for Tennessee this fall.
Hardesty's 105.1 rushing yards per game rank fourth in the SEC, and he's bearing down the 1,000-yard mark for the season with four games left. His eight touchdowns are third in the conference behind Alabama's Mark Ingram and Kentucky's Randall Cobb.
His consistency on the field helped provide a foundation from which the offense continues to improve. His attitude and leadership off the field have been just as helpful as that spin move is nasty.
And it is nasty.
"It's definitely one of a kind, we'll say that," quarterback Jonathan Crompton said. "Not too many people have the ability he has to do something like that."
Outside of a video game, anyway.
UT coach Lane Kiffin jokes that it's like Hardesty's pressing the circle button. Freshman tailback David Oku, a self-proclaimed Madden NFL expert, good-naturedly splits hairs.
"It's a spin, but it wasn't a spin where you just lose him," Oku deadpanned. "The Madden spin is where you spin off him and the defender's just trying to catch up. We will have to hit the circle button quite a few times in the Madden game when I play him and show him about that move he made. I will help him with that move."
Hardesty's younger brother, Kelvin, a sprinter at the University of North Carolina, won't let his brother take full credit for it, either. Anytime Kelvin sees the spin move in a game, he makes sure to remind his older brother who else used to use it.
"If you ask my little brother, he'll tell you to this day that it's his spin move that I stole from him. He did it a lot, too. I don't know, maybe it's a Hardesty trait," Montario Hardesty said. "Every time I do the spin move, he calls me (and says), `I'm going to need to get a patent on that spin move because that's really my move.' "
The move - and people's reaction to it - continues to confound even Hardesty.
As he walked to into the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center on Monday, Hardesty passed a group of throwers from the women's track team working out on the indoor football field. Turns out, they couldn't let Hardesty pass by without giving him props on his latest highlight reel move.
"They were like, `Oh, man, that's a nice spin move,' " Hardesty says, grinning.
Yes, it is.
More on The Move:
"I love it. I love it. I love it. We love blocking for him. I love the spin move. As much as he can break it out."
"We're sitting on the sidelines, getting coached up during the game and then you look up at the (video board) to see what the crowd's wooing about. Usually, it's a replay of the spin move."
"I don't mind getting physical. But honestly, I don't want to get hit either. I'd rather make you miss."
