Hardy Takes a Run at Becoming 5th Aztec to Get 1,000 Yards

Simple mathematics told Chris Hardy it would not be easy to rush for 1,000 yards this year for San Diego State.

And so did Dave Atkins, SDSU’s running backs coach.

“To be honest, I really didn’t think he would come close to 1,000 yards,” Atkins said. “In a passing offense like ours, you may only carry the ball 10 times in a game. If your longest run is 15 yards, you won’t get 100 in a game.”

Hardy has not settle for longest runs of 15. Twice he has scored on 92-yard runs, and he has surpassed 100 yards rushing in three games.

Tonight, he will attempt to become the fifth Aztec to rush for 1,000 yards in a season when SDSU plays host to New Mexico. Hardy needs 27 yards to reach 1,000.

Some people have told the 5-foot 8 1/2-inch Hardy that he is too small to play football.

Hardy takes pride in the little guys of football, noting Lionel (Little Train) James of the Chargers as among his favorite pro players. Around the SDSU football team, Hardy has been given the nickname Baby Train.

“I tell people it’s not how big you are, it’s how big your heart is,” Hardy said. “Lionel James is small. I’ll bet nobody ever told him he couldn’t play football.”

Doug Scovil, SDSU coach, never told Hardy he could not play football. In fact, SDSU was the only major-college team that promised Hardy the chance to play as a freshman. Hence, Hardy, a Clairemont High School graduate, accepted an Aztec scholarship and has been on the team since he came to campus in 1983.

At times, SDSU has even used Hardy’s height as strategy.

“I think it can be an advantage, particularly on the off-tackle play when we pull (linemen) Dan Knight and Dave Audick,” Scovil said. “Chris gets lost behind them. The defense can see the linemen, but it’s hard to see Hardy on that play.”

When Hardy came to SDSU, he saw an offense centered on passing. His goal was eventually to help balance that offense.

Hardy first ran to limelight this year with a 235-yard effort against Colorado State in the Aztecs’ third game. His second-best night was 223 yards last week against Texas El Paso.

“Coach Atkins told me if I showed I could run in practice, Coach Scovil would give it to me in the game,” Hardy said. “I’ve been trying to convince them for two years the running plays will work. Finally, I have convinced them if they give me the ball, I’ll make the most of it.”

In Hardy’s first two seasons, he usually played only in running situations. This season, however, he is playing in all situations.

“In the past, we tried to protect him by only playing him on running plays,” Atkins said. “As a freshman, his blocking was the pits. He felt he didn’t have to block. It took awhile to get across the point he would have to block. Once he passed the level where he could block, I had all the confidence in the world in him. Running is the fun part.”

If game films are an indication, Hardy may have plenty of fun against New Mexico.

“The way they blitz, if you get through their front line, you can get pretty good yardage,” Hardy said. “So, I think my prediction for the game will be pretty high.”

If Hardy surpasses 1,000 yards, he will have fulfilled a prediction he made after the Colorado State game.

Aztec Notes David (Deacon) Turner is SDSU’s single-season rushing leader with 1,252 yards in 1977. Jim Allison rushed for 1,186 yards in 1964, Tony Allen had 1,094 in 1979 and Norm Nygaard had 1,016 in 1952. . . . Wide receiver Webster Slaughter has been invited to play in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 11 in Stanford Stadium at Palo Alto. Slaughter is fourth nationally in receiving, averaging 6.6 receptions a game.