Brandon Hardin (born October 30, 1989) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

safety who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for two seasons. Hardin was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft. He played college at

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

College career

In his college career, he registered 105 tackles, one interception, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in 38 games. He started all 12 games at right cornerback in 2010, recording 63 tackles and three forced fumbles. He missed the 2011 season due to injury, but played in the

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anyway.

Professional career

2012 NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears chose Hardin in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft despite him missing the entire 2011 college football season with a shoulder ailment and having an extensive injury history during his career at Oregon State.

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draft analyst Mike Mayock called Hardin "a big, good-looking kid who will definitely play inside in Chicago."

Chicago Bears

On May 15, the Bears signed Hardin to a 4-year contract, making him the last of the Bears draft picks to sign. Hardin was also reunited with

Stephen Paea Stephen Paea ( ; born May 11, 1988) is a New Zealand–born former American football defensive tackle. He played college football for Oregon State University, and was recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears ...

. "If I had one word to describe him, it would be a beast," Hardin said. "He’s just strong as hell. When he was our d-tackle and I was playing corner, it was good knowing he was in there rushing the quarterback." On August 18, 2012, during a pre-season game against the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

, Hardin left the 3rd quarter with a neck injury, and had to be carted off the field. The injury came when he was tackling Redskins tight end

Logan Paulsen Logan Sindre Paulsen (born February 26, 1987) is a former American football tight end. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at UCLA. Before that, he played at Chaminade Colleg ...

, which caused him to lie on the field for 10 minutes. His head was immobilized, but he showed mobility in his arms. Hardin was later released from the hospital a day later. Hardin was placed on injured reserve shortly later. In the 2013 preseason finale against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

, Hardin broke his

scapula The scapula (plural scapulae or scapulas), also known as the shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus (upper arm bone) with the clavicle (collar bone). Like their connected bones, the scapulae are paired, with each scapula on eith ...

, and was subsequently released on August 31.

New York Jets

Hardin was signed by the New York Jets to a future/reserve contract on January 15, 2014. Hardin was released on August 1.

Personal life

In June 2012, Hardin graduated with a degree in business administration.

References

External links

*
Chicago Bears bio

2012 NFL Draft Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardin, Brandon 1989 births Living people Players of American football from Honolulu American football safeties Kamehameha Schools alumni Oregon State Beavers football players Chicago Bears players New York Jets players American sportspeople of Chinese descent Native Hawaiian sportspeople Hawaii people of Chinese descent