Will Hardy Ready to Lead UNC’s Defense Into Belichick Era

For senior safety Will Hardy, he has waited a long time to finally be the alpha dog of this defense after being a key rotational player for North Carolina the last few seasons.

Hardy was one of the key players in the secondary for Carolina last season, tallying 34 tackles, a tackle for loss, an interception, two pass breakups and a forced fumble last season. Not only is he slated to put up bigger numbers as a starter, he is a leader of a program that is going through massive change with Bill Belichick taking over as the head coach of the Tar Heels.

“I’m excited for the new change, the new spark, the new energy that this season is bringing to the team, to the players on the team that stayed, but also just to the whole fan base and the community of Chapel Hill, Hardy said.”  I think everyone is looking forward to it. I’m no different. I know all the players on the team that were here last year are excited for this new change. When we got the news that Coach Belichick was going to be our new coach, we were all pumped for it. Shocked at first, but ready to get to work, and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing.”

North Carolina’s locker room has seen plenty of turnover this offseason, as Belichick brought in experienced players who have logged meaningful snaps. Hardy isn’t letting that slow the Tar Heels down. 

As one of the team’s returning leaders, he has embraced the challenge of bringing the new group together — even if many of them haven’t played alongside each other before — with the season quickly approaching.

“As a leader on the team that’s been here, it’s one of my roles to get everyone established, learn everyone’s names, but just learn everything about these guys and really create a team chemistry that can go win on Saturdays.”

Hardy loves how competitive the defensive back room has been as they are motivated to improve after allowing 226.3 passing yards per game, which was 80th in the country. 

Hardy has said that he wants to be the “encourager” when things go haywire.

“We have some hard days, maybe some days where we didn’t practice as well as we wanted to or some hard workouts that are tough to get through,” Hardy said. “Being a guy that people can know that they’ll get some encouragement from, it’s important for me. I think leadership, it’ll come in all shapes and sizes, but being someone that people can count on and can trust, that’s important for me.”

With all of the changes in the program, the one constant is Hardy. He’s the steady voice in a locker room full of new faces, setting the tone every day with his energy and work ethic. As the Tar Heels enter a new era, they’ll need a leader like Hardy who has been through the ups and downs..

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