Two-time All-State pick has become a big target for college recruiters
2026 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
It would’ve been hard not to notice the things Justice Hardy has done on the football field the past three seasons for Wyomissing.
And college coaches are noticing.
Hardy, a two-time All-State pick, has picked up 15 Division I scholarship offers, including one earlier this month from Bill Belichick and the University of North Carolina.
The recruiting intensity has picked up in recent weeks with Hardy, a junior who recently transferred to Wilson, collecting nine offers in February and 11 since the start of year.
Hardy has become the hottest football recruit in Berks since former Wyomissing offensive lineman J’ven Williams, who picked up nearly a dozen Division I offers in roughly a week early in his junior season with the Spartans, 2021. He eventually signed with Penn State.
The recruiting trail through Berks had been quiet. Not one player from the Class of 2026 drew a top Division I offer, a rarity.
Things are much different for the Class of 2027.
Michael Glover, a two-time All-State pick and junior at Wilson, has pulled in nine offers, five this month.
Twin Valley’s All-State linebacker Lucas Myers received an offer from Army late last month and is expected to see more in the coming months.
The 5-10, 185-pound Hardy is a quadruple threat on the field as a running back, receiver, defensive back and kick returner.
He has been an All-State pick at defensive back the past two seasons after twice being named Berks County Defensive Back of the Year and Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 Defensive Back of the Year.
Hardy’s first Division I offer came last May from Liberty, a member of Conference USA. He didn’t get another until September when Temple of the American Athletic Conference offered.
The floodgates have opened recently.
Within the last week Cincinnati of the Big 12, Boston College of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Colgate of the Patriot League and Old Dominion of the Sun Belt Conference have offered.
Earlier this month Hardy drew offers from Lehigh, North Carolina, Army, Miami of Ohio and ACC champion Duke.
He scored January offers from West Virginia and Buffalo.
Hardy was a first-team running back selection in Section 4 as a junior after rushing for a team-high 979 yards and averaging 10.7 yards per carry. He also led Wyomissing with 19 TDs and led the team in receptions for the third straight season.
Over three seasons he has averaged 9.7 yards per carry, rushed for 2,246 yards and scored 46 touchdowns.
Hardy broke into Wyomissing’s starting lineup on defense as a freshman; following that season Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum compared him favorably to Max Hurleman, who played at Notre Dame and is now with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Hardy showed off his all-around game in 2024 at Twin Valley, which was unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the state at the time. He rushed for a career-high 196 yards on 16 carries with a pair of scores and had a pair of critical receptions on the way to a program-record 297 yards from scrimmage. The Spartans won 34-24.
Hardy ran a 10.87 at the Firing Meet last spring and was the second-fastest underclassmen in both the 100 and 200 finals, behind Wilson’s Jaiden Carpenter.
