Jake Hardy loves to watch football on TV. He loves playing it more.
Hardy, a 17-year-old Ortonville resident, is the varsity football kicker at Brandon High School. An entering senior, Hardy is using this summer and upcoming season to become known by college recruiters.
‘Jake definitely wants to play football in college. He’s been going to well-known camps to gain college visibility,? said Brent Hardy, Jakes father.
Jake’s most recent camp was the Dick Pierce Scholarship Development Camp at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. The camp was two days, with the accuracy and distance of each kicker posted every two hours.
‘I think it made it more fun for them to see where they stood against each other,? said Brent.
Jake was awarded ‘Best Punter? and ‘Most Accurate Field Goal Kicker.?
‘My accuracy was 76 percent from distances like 35-56 yards,? said Jake. ‘Anything over 50 percent is impressive.?
Jake has been a kicker for four years. Before football, he played mainly soccer.
‘I played soccer my whole life, but during my freshman year, Brandon’s varsity kicker graduated and our team needed someone. So I decided to play football,? said Jake.
He played both football and soccer in the same season from ninth-11th grade. As a senior, Jake is going to focus only on football.
‘We had to work out an agreement with the soccer and football coaches,? said Brent of his son’s cluttered athletic involvement.
Jake is making his presence known in the college football community, having been approached by a number of teams already. However, he is unsure where he will choose to go.
‘It’s a little early in the recruiting process, I think,? said Brent, ‘but he’ll make it to college football.?