Indiana University Athletics
Hardy, Porter Earn All-Big Ten Honors
11/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 21, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana junior cornerback Tracy Porter and sophomore wide receiver James Hardy earned All-Big Ten honors, the league announced on Tuesday, Nov. 21. The duo collected second team accolades from the conference media and honorable mention from the conference head coaches.
Additionally, senior safety Will Meyers was selected as Indiana's representative for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (each institution had one honoree).
Hardy, a second team honoree by the media in 2005, turned in one of the most prolific seasons for a receiver in school history. As he did last season, Hardy recorded 10 touchdowns, which ranks second on IU's single-season charts, and his 20 career touchdowns (in 20 career games) put him behind only Ernie Jones (1984-87) on the all-time list. The Fort Wayne, Ind., native led the team with 51 receptions, 722 yards and the 10 touchdowns. He also recorded three 100-yard games to give him eight in his career, putting him in a tie for second on the IU charts.
Additionally, Hardy joined Jade Butcher (1967-69) as the only Hoosiers in history to have more than one game with three receiving touchdowns in a career. Hardy had three touchdowns against Iowa on Oct. 14 and followed that with a school-record four touchdowns against Michigan State on Oct. 28.
Porter finished this season second on the club with four interceptions and 51 solo stops (59 total - third on club). He also led the team with eight pass breakups, recovered one fumble, forced a fumble and blocked a field goal. The Port Allen, La., native pushed his career interception total to 10, which is tied for fifth in school history. Porter returned a punt 86 yards for a score as IU earned a victory in its season opener against Western Michigan on Sept. 2. In his best performance of the season, Porter notched his second-career multi-interception game with a pair of picks against Connecticut on Sept. 23 in addition to blocking a field goal and making three tackles. He tied for fourth in the Big Ten with 0.33 interceptions per contest and 1.00 passes defended per game.
A first team Academic All-American in 2005, Meyers earned a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V team for the second straight season in 2006. Meyers collected a team-best 78 tackles, 53 solos and five interceptions in addition to four tackles for loss, four pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery on the season. He closed out his career with two interceptions and a forced fumble at Purdue on Nov. 18. The Chesterfield, Mo., native shared the Big Ten lead with .42 interceptions per game, which ranked 26th nationally, and finished the year in the league's top 20 with 6.5 tackles per game.
