Indiana University Athletics
Hardy Earns Sporting News All-Freshman Team Honors
12/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 20, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The postseason awards keep on coming for Indiana wide receiver James Hardy. Hardy garnered his fourth postseason honor after securing a spot on the Sporting News All-Freshman team.
Hardy collected his first award when he earned a spot as a second team All-Big Ten selection by the conference media. A selection to the Rivals.com Freshman All-America second team followed, and Hardy picked up his third piece of hardware as a first team CollegeFootballNews.com Freshman All-America.
The 6-7 Fort Wayne, Ind., product turned in one of the most prolific seasons IU has seen at wide receiver. Hardy grabbed 61 receptions for 893 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first season as a Hoosier. He finished second in school history with 61 receptions, tied for second with 10 touchdowns and fifth with 893 yards. In addition, Hardy's five 100-yard games were tied for second most in a season in school history.
Hardy finished first in the Big Ten and 23rd nationally with 89.3 yards per game and fourth in the conference and 29th in the nation with 6.10 receptions per game. His 10 touchdowns ranked fifth among all freshmen nationally, and he became the first IU receiver since Ernie Jones (1987) to catch at least one touchdown in seven of his first eight games.
