BERRYVILLE — When a player is a first-team all-district defensive back as a junior, it’s a bit peculiar that he’d be tabbed by coaches as “tailor-made” for another position on the field.
Learn more about the aggressiveness, athletic ability and work ethic of Clarke County’s Chase Hardesty, and then it’s easy to see how the former free safety has made the transition to outside linebacker admirably, making the switch seem modestly appropriate.
“He’s probably one of the most coachable players I’ve ever coached in 25 years,” Clarke County head coach Chris Parker said.
Still at first glance, Hardesty, just 160 pounds, resembles a defensive back with hardly an ounce of fat on a non-imposing frame.
So the senior, who now takes on the daunting task of shedding 250-pound lineman instead of “little” wide receivers, must rely on a quality that is often more beneficial than sheer size: intelligence. Against a size disadvantage, it is Hardesty’s equalizer.
“He’s very, very smart,” said defensive coordinator Brent Emmart, who also coaches Hardesty in basketball. “You tell him something one time, and that’s it, you never have to tell him again because he picks it up the first time.”
In addition to learning new assignments, Hardesty will have to employ new football skills, as well.
“It’s going to have to be [about] technique and leverage,” said Parker. “Sometimes guys that are feisty and strong and quick on their feet like that can handle it.”
Part of the learning curve that comes from the position change has been the adjustment from backpedalling as a safety to reacting more quickly and instinctively at the linebacker position. Hardesty will routinely have to shed blocks from oncoming offensive lineman and fullbacks trying to knock him flat.
However, for a player who was second on the team last season with 69 tackles, playing physical is a welcome commodity. And unfortunately for opposing offenses, he will have even more opportunities to make things happen this season.
“When you’re a linebacker you have to read run first and it’s a lot harder,” Hardesty said. “It gives me a chance to be in a lot more plays.”
Added Emmart, “He’s a good athlete, he was one of our leading tacklers last year and we needed a guy with some experience to play our strong-side outside linebacker, and he’s worked very hard in the offseason to get stronger.”
Hardesty, who said he believes that the team has a good chance at competing for a Bull Run District title this season, praised the offseason commitment made by the players and the coaching staff to improve on last season’s 2-8 record — particularly in the weight room. The team required an 85 percent attendance rate for summer weight lifting sessions and got about 40 to 50 participants each day. And Hardesty, noticeably, was almost always among them.
Parker said that though Hardesty didn’t put on much weight, his overall quickness and strength will be ample to be productive at the outside linebacker position. Emmart, too, stressed that size on the outside is not essential in their defense, but Hardesty’s athletic ability and quickness will overcome and make the transition easier.
“I’ve been working hard all summer and I think I have more intensity than a lot of people,” Hardesty said. “To be a football player you have to have a lot of intensity and a lot of heart and that separates a lot. If you have heart, you’re going to be a good player no matter what.”
In trying to put the best 11 athletes on the field, Parker said that moving Hardesty to the second level was his best option, and through camp, the senior has proven he’s up for the challenge.
But with a shakeup on offense and Chandler Rhoads taking over as the team’s starting quarterback, outside linebacker won’t be the only position new for Hardesty.
As one of the team’s starting wide receivers, used sparingly in the role in 2006, he will be a viable option for Rhoads in an offense that is expected to run multiple formations, including the Wing T and Spread out of the shotgun.
“Probably [him] going in there at receiver is going to be a surprise to other safeties out there,” said Rhoads, who also noted Hardesty’s strong hands and reliability.
The work at flanker should pay dividends to the backer’s overall IQ of opposing offenses, as well.
“He understands where the pass drops are. He understands — as the outside linebacker — where the slant is going to be,” Emmart said. “So in playing both positions, he has a great understanding of where everybody is going to be on the field.”
