College Hardy accepted a football scholarship from the
University of Mississippi. As a freshman, he played in all 12 games, with 9 starts at left defensive end. He posted 49 tackles (fifth on the team), 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. He spent time at wide receiver against
Mississippi State University, making a 23 yards
touchdown reception. As a sophomore, he played in 10 games out of 12 games with four starts at defensive end. He tallied 64 tackles (fourth on the team), 10 sacks (led the conference), 18.5 tackles for loss (second in the conference), 3 forced fumbles and 2 touchdown receptions on offense. As a junior, he missed the first three games after having foot surgery to repair a broken bone in his right foot. He played in 9 out of 13 games because of injuries, recording 18 tackles, 8.5 sacks (third in the conference), 9.5 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback pressures, one interception and one pass defensed. Hardy was considered one of the best
pass rushers eligible for the
2009 NFL draft but he elected to return to Ole Miss for his senior season. In January 2009, he underwent a second surgery to his right foot during the off-season. On July 12, 2009, he was involved in a car accident along with teammate
Dexter McCluster, where he aggravated the foot injury and was put back in a walking cast. As a senior, he appeared in 9 out of 13 games (including the
Cotton Bowl Classic), after missing the final three regular-season contests because of a surgery on his fractured left wrist. He registered 16 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks (tied for third on the team), 4 quarterback pressures, 3 passes defensed and one fumble recovery. Hardy finished his college career with 39.5 career tackles for loss and 26.5 sacks. In the
2006–07 basketball season, he played in 15 games (one start), while averaging just under one point and two rebounds per contest. His best performance came against the two-time national champion
University of Florida in the semifinals of the
2007 SEC tournament, where he had 6 points and 4 rebounds.
Professional career Pre-draft In the April 2009 edition of
Sports Illustrated, Hardy was named a top prospect for the
2010 NFL draft. However, injuries, poor production, and an unimpressive combine caused his draft stock to fall significantly.
Carolina Panthers Hardy was selected by the
Carolina Panthers in the sixth round (175th overall) of the
2010 NFL draft. He was signed to a contract on June 17, 2010. Hardy managed to record a blocked punt for a
safety as well as force a fumble and record 4 tackles in his rookie debut. Although Hardy had played in 15 games his rookie year, he had started none. He did, however, finish the year with 30 tackles, 3 sacks, two forced fumbles, and the aforementioned safety. Hardy recorded 11 sacks in 2012 in spite of sustaining a broken thumb in September. On November 9, 2012, Hardy was fined $15,750 for a roughing the passer penalty against
Robert Griffin III versus the
Washington Redskins in Week 9. On June 11, 2013, Hardy spoke to reporters during a summer minicamp claiming his goal for sacks in the 2013 season to be 50. Regarding such a lofty number, more than twice the current record, Hardy stated, "Why shoot low, right? If I'm going to shoot at it, I'm going to shoot at it with a .50 caliber. I'm going to shoot at a little bird with a .50-caliber bullet. That's the goal for this year, 50 sacks, that's where I'm at. That's the goal, 50. You heard it first." In a road victory against the Atlanta Falcons, Hardy finished with a single game team record four sacks. He ended up recording a team-record 15 sacks, earning his first trip to the
2014 Pro Bowl and being named a
second-team All Pro by the Associated Press. The Panthers defense finished first in the NFL with 60 sacks in 2013, second in points per game, and third in
DVOA team defense. He was ranked 53rd in the
NFL Top 100 for his breakout performance in the
2013 NFL season. Hardy was set to become a free agent during the 2014 offseason, but it was announced on February 28, 2014, that the Panthers had placed the
franchise tag on him, allowing him to return to the field for them during the
2014 season. Hardy played the first game of the 2014 season, but was placed on the commissioner's exempt list while his domestic violence case played out. He remained there for the rest of the season. In March 2015, the Panthers decided not to re-sign Hardy. Panthers owner
Jerry Richardson made the decision to cut ties with Hardy. Despite requests from players and coaches to let Hardy have another chance, Richardson said that he made the decision not to do so because "we do the right things."
Dallas Cowboys On March 18, 2015, Hardy signed as a
free agent a one-year, $11.3 million contract with the
Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys were looking for him to be a difference-maker at right
defensive end and as expected, were criticized by the public and the media for the signing. On April 22, Hardy was suspended for the first 10 games of the
2015 season without pay due to violating the NFL Personal Conduct Policy. On July 10, the NFL reduced it to a 4-game suspension, in order to avoid a possible legal action on Hardy's part. His first game after the suspension came against the
New England Patriots. He had two sacks and five hits on
quarterback Tom Brady. Two games later, against the
Seattle Seahawks, he tipped a pass from
Russell Wilson and intercepted it. After his quick start, Hardy's production dropped. He led the team in quarterback pressures (32) and was second in sacks (6), but only three of those sacks came in the last nine games. Hardy also drew the ire of coach Jason Garrett due to inappropriate tweets, frequent tardiness, and being a bad influence on the younger players on the team. The Cowboys chose not to re-sign Hardy after the season.
Spring League and indoor football Hardy participated in
The Spring League in 2017. He signed with the
Richmond Roughriders of the
American Arena League in January 2018. ==NFL career statistics==