Mecole Hardman, Jr. lived up to the hype on Friday night. The nation’s No. 1 athlete scored three touchdowns and added three two-point conversions in Elbert County’s 34-30 home victory against Stephens County.
Hardman lined up at quarterback and was a primary run threat. He finished with 15 carries for 124 yards on the ground.
That game gave a healthy crowd at Elberton’s beautiful Granite Bowl exactly what they wanted to see. Hardman zigged and zagged and avoided any defender he had to in space. Stephens County tried to create a wall, but that crumbled at times when the major UGA target had the ball.
Stephens County got behind its big line and played power football. The Indians ran often behind big 6-foot-7 offensive tackle Ben Cleveland. The UGA commitment told the AJC on Friday that he’s made Hardman a “gotta have” priority on his recruiting to-do list for the 2016 class.
Hardman offered his thoughts on Elijah Holyfield, what he expects to get out of his UGA visit on Saturday and some love he got from Bulldog fans in a recent online poll in the above video interview with the AJC.
Jeff Sentell covers UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.
