University of Tennessee Athletics
Hardesty's Patience Paying Off
September 30, 2009 | Football
Sept. 30, 2009
BY DREW EDWARDS
UTSports.com
Montario Hardesty didn't make a peep when he only got three carries in the first half of Saturday's victory over Ohio. But Wednesday, he was little upset on the practice field.
"I was kind of mad today because I wanted to practice," said Hardesty, who was held out of some drills Wednesday after having fluid drained from his knee earlier in the week. "I feel that where's the games are won. You're not going to step out there on a Saturday and change into Superman. You've got to get it done in practice."
Lately, though, getting it done in practice and games hasn't been a problem.
Hardesty enters Saturday's game against Auburn as the SEC's leading rusher any way you slice the stats. His 84 carries are tops. So are his 485 yards. And his 121.2 yards per game are 14 more than Mississippi State's Anthony Dixon in second place.
The numbers are impressive. There's another that stands out, too. Through four games, Hardesty has only lost 11 yards.
"That's a good stat right there," Hardesty said, smiling. "Looking at the film last week, how our offensive line was coming off the ball was crazy. I was just excited to see how the guys on the team are helping me out and fighting for me.
"But only losing 11 yards is big. I used to do that every game."
One thing that hasn't changed is Hardesty's drive. UT coach Lane Kiffin noticed that early on.
Kiffin had to keep Hardesty from doing too much on Wednesday.
"Obviously that's what you want," Kiffin said. "The best thing is to have to pull him back. That's the mentality you want. If you're around the sport long enough, you're going to find some players who are looking for their way out, `how can I not practice? How can I make my injury look worse than it is and just get to gameday?'
"He's the exact opposite. It's why he's one of the leaders of our team. It's why he embodies the how we want to be as a team. The best example is he carried the ball three times in the first half, didn't say a word, just kept being ready whenever we put him in. I love everything about him."
Hardesty, who patiently waited for the starting job until this season, saw his patience rewarded on Saturday.
In the first half, Tennessee threw 28 passes in the first half. Freshman Bryce Brown carried the ball six times. And Hardesty carried three times. In the second half, Hardesty ran 17 times for 124 yards. But piping up on the sidelines never crossed his mind.
"I'm a captain on this team," Hardesty said. "That's definitely not the time or place to get to talking about, `I want the ball.' We were in a close ballgame, and we were winning. I was getting reps, I just wasn't getting a lot of carries. That never even crossed my mind during the whole game."
Follow the Vols on Twitter @UTAthletics , and read Drew Edwards' blog, The Inside Source.
