Could Daequan Hardy Give Penn State's Offense a Spark?

Hardy, a defensive back, is a newfound game-changer on special teams. As for offense? It's complicated, James Franklin says.

Daequan Hardy, who has been Penn State's primary punt-returner for all of three games, now leads the nation in return average. He has scored two touchdowns in seven attempts, which would have been three but for a penalty that erased an 86-yard return against Indiana. 

So why has Hardy, a fifth-year senior, begun returning punts only this season? Glad you asked, Penn State coach James Franklin said.

"Yeah, fair question," Franklin said at his weekly press conference before the Nittany Lions visit Maryland. Here's how Franklin answered it.

"So, fair question about the four-and-a-half years," Franklin said. "You guys also talk like there wasn't a guy like Jahan Dotson at Penn State. Four-and-a-half years makes it sound dramatic, like we had some slug back there. So just to put that in reference in my mind to be fair in both directions."

Yes, Penn State had Dotson returning punts for two seasons, and he leads the program with a career-average of 17.8 yards. Parker Washington handled the responsibility last season, leaving the role open to competition this year. During training camp, Kaden Saunders won the position duel over Hardy, who also is the team's starting nickel cornerback. Franklin said that Saunders won because he caught the ball more consistently during practice.

However, the Lions sought a return spark and sent Hardy back against Massachusetts. He took his first attempt since high school 56 yards for a touchdown, then added a 68-yard score later in the game. Hardy became the first Penn State player to return two punts for touchdowns in a single game and tied the single-season record for touchdown returns that day.

Hardy now leads college football in return average (23.3 per attempt) and gives the Lions a dynamic force in the return game. So why, again, did it take so long? Franklin continued his answer.

"The challenge for coaches and players all the time is, how much live do you go on special teams with a punt returner who is also our starting nickel and corner, and you go live and all of a sudden, while you're doing the evaluation process, you lose that guy, and then the defensive coaches are upset because you lost that guy during a live period as a punt returner to evaluate him," Franklin said. "Or you guys are saying, 'You lost this guy as your punt returner or as you kick returner, and now he's not available on offense or defense.' So those things factor. You don't get that many live reps.

"It's almost like a dual-threat quarterback and he's in a competition with a guy who is not. A lot of times you never get to see the dual-threat quarterback's ability, that aspect of his game, unless it's live, and the quarterback doesn't go live very often. So that's the challenge. It's a fair question obviously the way he's impacting games right now. But again, we had a guy by the name of Jahan Dotson before."

Which leads to another question about Hardy. Since he has skills fielding punts and can be electric in returns, could the cornerback make an impact on offense? While the Lions seek consistency from their receivers, they also need more big plays. Is Hardy that spark on the occasional jet sweep, for instance? Again, Franklin said, it's complicated.

"It's not something you can just say, okay, this week we're going to make this guy an offensive player," Franklin said. "If you do that, you're probably just going to use him on the pass plays, and everybody knows he's in for just the pass play. You lose some of that. So it's more complex than that. We have guys on defense that just play defense that have missed assignments. We have guys on offense that just play offense and have missed assignments, and that's limiting their ability to play more, too many missed assignments.

"When you do both that magnifies it, and that's something you have to be working on more than just after he returns a punt for a touchdown."

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