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Quietly getting the job done

Linebacker Bam Hardmon has accepted more responsibility, but he's not one to brag.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published September 25, 2002

GAINESVILLE -- Bam Hardmon walked into an interview area filled with reporters Tuesday afternoon and paused to glance around the room.

He was searching for somebody, anybody, who might take the spotlight away from him.

"When I walked in, I was saying, 'Where is Rex?' " Hardmon said. "I didn't want to be the only one in there, and most of the time when I come in Rex (Grossman) is the one at the (interview) table. I'm a guy that just kind of sits back and observes and just does what I need to do. As a linebacker, I just go out and make plays and do what I need to do."

What Hardmon does is anything the Gators need him to do. This season he has epitomized the concept of team player.

"I just try to look on the bright side," Hardmon said. "I've been on this team for four years now, and I've been through different changes and everything. I understand there are times you have to do things for the team, and I'm a team player, so I just do what I need to do."

For three years Hardmon, whose real name is Byron, quietly has provided the Gators linebacking corps with solid play.

Before this season, he had played in 35 regular-season games with 12 starts. He started nine of 11 regular-season games at outside linebacker last season. As a sophomore in 2000, Hardmon had 44 tackles and two interceptions, and he registered 42 tackles last season.

Hardmon, a senior from Jacksonville, entered this season as the starter at outside linebacker, but depth and inexperience became a problem. The coaching staff was forced to go to its team player and request a move to middle linebacker.

True to form, he readily accepted.

"Since the day I got here, Bam has been a guy that says, 'Hey whatever is best for the team,' " Florida defensive coordinator John Thompson said. "If it's a new system on defense, it it's new coaches, if it's a new position, if it's a new practice structure, whatever it's been, Bam has just said, 'Bring it on.' "

Hardmon, 21, made the switch in time for the third game and has helped solidify a defensive front that struggled the first two games.

"He's gotten in there and made a lot of plays, that's the main thing," coach Ron Zook said. "In his first game at middle linebacker he had 17 hits on the football, and he had 11 in the game Saturday. ... It has been a big boost for us defensively, and really it shows you what kind of football player Bam is."

Hardmon earned his nickname "Bam" as a high school freshman, a testament to his hits on opponents. His favorite sports personality is Junior Seau. This season Hardmon leads the team in tackles with 51, surpassing last season's 42. He also leads the team in solo tackles with 32 and is one of two players with an interception.

What has impressed the coaching staff most is not that Hardmon accepted the change so easily but that he never has expressed frustration about the transition, which the coaches said isn't an easy one.

"He had played in there in some of our packages, so he was somewhat familiar with it, but it's different," Thompson said. "When you're an outside guy, everything is to the inside of you. When you're an inside guy, they are coming from both directions, you've got to see a lot more. Then in the first game we played Ohio, and they sprang a new offense on us.

"A lot of guys would have been frustrated and said, 'Why are you putting me in this position?' He just said, 'I'm not getting it, work with me,' and he got it the second half."

In his softspoken, slow-speaking manner, Hardmon is quick to defer credit to Thompson, whom the players call "J.T."

"J.T. is a great guy and he tries to do things according to what we can do for the team, and I'm happy with that," Hardmon said.

A two-time SEC Honor Roll selection, Hardmon admits he is not much of a talker, preferring to let his play stand for itself.

But his leadership isn't lost on his teammates, especially sophomore Todd McCullough. It was Hardmon who went out of his way to help McCullough become more comfortable at outside linebacker, Hardmon's old position.

"Bam's one of the leaders of the team," McCullough said. "He's personally helped me out a lot as far as coming on the last few years. Bam's an aggressive player. I guess at middle linebacker you need that type of player. He seems to be filling that role."

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