Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
Apr. 29, 2024 - After completing a spectacular playing career for the North Central College football team, DeAngelo Hardy will look to land a roster spot with the National Football League's Baltimore Ravens, signing with the team as an undrafted free agent Saturday.
Hardy is one of 16 players signed by the Ravens to attend their annual rookie minicamp, which NFL teams are permitted to host on one of the first two weekends in May.
Hardy was a four-year starter at wide receiver for the Cardinals from 2019-2023, during which time North Central posted an overall record of 56-3, won three College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Championships and advanced to the NCAA Division III national championship game, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, four times. The Cardinals won their first Division III national championship with a 41-14 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Dec. 20, 2019 at Woodforest Bank Stadium in Shenandoah, Texas. North Central capped off an undefeated 15-0 campaign in 2022 with its second national title on Dec. 16, defeating the University of Mount Union (Ohio), 28-21, at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
In 57 games, Hardy caught 246 passes for 4,253 yards and a program-record 58 touchdowns, hauling in 75 passes for 1,353 yards and 20 scores as a senior. Hardy ranks seventh in Division III history in career touchdown receptions and 17th in receiving yards. Hardy also rushed for 394 yards and five touchdowns on 40 carries, returned 13 kickoffs for 520 yards (an average of 40.0 yards per return) and three scores, and completed 3 of 3 passes for 25 yards and three touchdowns.
Hardy became the first player in the Cardinals' history to score touchdowns rushing, passing and receiving in a single game in the team's 2023 regular-season finale at Augustana College Nov. 11. On Dec. 2, in a Division III national quarterfinal victory at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Hardy became the first North Central player to throw and catch a touchdown pass, return a kickoff for a touchdown, and intercept a pass in a single game. Hardy also holds Stagg Bowl records for the longest kickoff return (93 yards vs. the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor, Dec. 17, 2021 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio) and longest pass reception (94 yards, 2022 vs. Mount Union).
Hardy was a five-time All-America honoree with the Cardinals, earning First Team honors from D3football.com and the Associated Press in 2022 and 2023 as well as a Second Team selection from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) in 2023.
Additional dates for preseason activities for all 32 NFL teams will be made public when the league announces the 2024 season schedule, which will take place May 8 or 9.
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