The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees approved the contract for the Gamecocks running back trainer Montario Hardesty Friday afternoon.
Hardesty will have a two-year contract that earns him $ 300,000 a year. Hardesty’s purchase clause is $ 100,000 in the first year and $ 50,000 in the second year, but the cost doubles if he moves on to another SEC football program. All Carolina field coaches now have approved contracts, concluding the first year’s head coach Shane Beamerstaff of.
Meet the South Carolina technical football team in 2021
Former All-SEC Tennessee tailback was named South Carolina running back trainer on February 5, replacing Des Kitchings, who left the same position with NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
“Super excited to do this signing,” said coach Shane Beamer of Hardesty. “Someone I know and have followed his career since he started working as a coach. Great player in college, obviously that speaks for itself. He was a college player when I was here before and I remember him during the recruitment process, then as a college player. What really attracted us to him is the kind of person he is and then his story.
“So many coaches I spoke with when we were doing our research on Montario, more than one coach or administrator used the word ‘star’ to describe him. … The people I have a lot of respect for speak very, very well about him, and it resonated with me. “
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Hardesty arrives in Columbia later he spent the last two seasons as part of Charlotte’s technical football team, working under coach Will Healy as the 49ers’ wide receiver coach.
Charlotte set a school record for passing TDs (24) and an FBS school record for overtaking yards (2,749), thanks to a reception body that included honorable mention from all C-USA, Victor Tucker. Tucker had five 100-yard receiving games and placed sixth in the league in receiving yards per game and second in receiving touchdowns.
Hardesty spent the 2018 season as an offensive quality control technician in his alma mater, Tennessee. In 2017, he was an assistant fitness and strength coach at Florida Atlantic, working for his former college coach, Lane Kiffin. He also spent two years as a running back coach and coordinator of special teams at Norfolk State (2015-16).
Hardesty started as a coach at Chowan University, where he served as an intern in 2014 on the NFL Players Association internship program before joining the Norfolk State team.
Hardesty played running back while earning his bachelor’s degree in sports management in Tennessee, graduating in 2009. He won the second all-SEC team honors as a senior when he came in fourth in the league in races with 1,345 yards, the fourth largest in school history, and scored 14 touchdowns. He ran for 2,391 yards, the ninth in Vols’ history, and scored 27 touchdowns during his Rocky Top career.
Hardesty was a second-round pick for the Cleveland Browns in the 2010 NFL Draft. In his first preseason game, he suffered an ACL break and was sidelined for the entire season. He played 23 games with the Browns during the 2011 and 2012 seasons, totaling 153 transports for 537 yards and 16 receptions for 138 yards. He was placed on the injury reserve in 2013, after arthroscopic knee surgery, and was discharged later that year.
Born in New Bern, NC, Hardesty was born on February 1, 1987. As a senior at New Bern High School in 2004, he ran 2,002 yards and made 19 touchdowns.