Montario Hardesty has consistently battled injuries during his first three-plus years at the University of Tennessee, but it’s usually been tough to pry the ball from his hands.
The slightest lack of concentration in a team scrimmage last Saturday gave the defense a chance, though, and senior end Robert Ayers capitalized.
Ayers attacked Hardesty from a blind spot, smacking the ball from his hands and recovering it to stop the scrimmage’s opening possession — a drive that had quickly advanced past the 50-yard line.
That set the tone for a scrimmage filled with opportunistic defense and careless offense. It also irritated Hardesty, who got a rare chance to start when coaches held senior Arian Foster out with a sore knee.
“It was a lack of focus on my part,”
Hardesty said. “Rob had been blocked, so I took my eyes off him and went to the next level, and I got kind of lax with the ball."
“He made a good play on the ball, but those are plays where I’ve got to control the ball. I’ve got to keep my two hands on the ball. That’s mental. That’s on me.”
Hardesty and backups Lennon Creer and Tauren Poole struggled through the rest of the day, with a few solid runs overshadowed by mostly negligible gains.
“Not where we need to be,”
Vols coach Phillip Fulmer said of Saturday’s running game.
When watching the tape, Hardesty saw one particularly bad read. He could have cut inside and gained eight or nine yards, but he bounced outside and sophomore safety Eric Berry wrestled him down for a 4-yard gain.
“There were definitely things that we can improve,”
Hardesty said. “I think we were all pressing too much, and trying to make big runs instead of just playing in the game.”
Fulmer saw similar problems on tape, but he also saw some positives. He spotted Hardesty putting two hands on the ball every time he approached the line of scrimmage the rest of the day.
“You could really see where he was protecting the football and obviously taking care of not having another one of those things, like a mature guy should do,”
Fulmer said. “I was really happy for him.”
Hardesty’s toughness and positive attitude despite a long list of injuries has made him a respected locker-room presence. Fulmer complimented Hardesty’s leadership during Foster’s brief absence.
“Montario’s done a good job,”
Fulmer said. “He’s worked hard. He’s a tough guy. He’s smart.”
Coaches and teammates have never lost faith his Hardesty’s abilities.
“Montario’s time will come,”
Foster said. “Everyone is going to see how good he is.”
Foster’s return slid Hardesty back to the No. 2 spot, but he’ll still get plenty of opportunities if he stays healthy. With few exceptions, Fulmer has always preferred to spread the backfield wealth.
“We’ve got four tailbacks, and we’re going to need all four of them during the course of the year,”
Fulmer said. “There’s no doubt, and there’s never been one.”
Foster said he wanted “everybody we have at every position comes out every day and works like a starter.”
He and Hardesty are pushing Creer and Poole in hopes of getting pushed back.
“I’m just trying to step up and show the young boys how to practice hard,”
Hardesty said. “I’m trying to get some of them to follow along with what we’re doing.”
