My vote for next DL coach: Bam Hardmon

Jan 18, 2017, 9:13 PM

Byron ‘Bam’ Hardmon, an All-SEC linebacker and three-year NFL veteran, begins his second season as Troy’s defensive line coach.

In his first season, Hardmon helped transform the Troy defense into one of the top units in the Sun Belt Conference and the country.

The Trojans finished the 2015 season with the second-best turnaround nationally in opponent 3rd-down percentage (14.62 percent), the fourth-best turnaround in yards per play allowed (-1.13), the fifth-best improvement in tackles for loss per game (2.59) and 16th-best improvement in total defense (-62.7).

Troy scored five defensive touchdowns, the third most in the country and most by a Troy team since 2004, and finished fifth in the country with 13 fumble recoveries. The Trojans forced 16 turnover over the final six games of the season after just three in the first six games.

Bandit Tyler Roberts earned first team All-Sun Belt honors and finished sixth nationally with 1.55 tackles for loss per game, while ranking 41st nationally with 0.64 sacks per game.

Hardmon joined the Troy staff after two seasons as the defensive line coach at Idaho. While with the Vandals, Hardmon helped transform defensive tackle Quayshawne Buckley into a force behind the line of scrimmage. In 2014, Buckley ranked 17th nationally with 1.4 tackles for loss per game after checking in at 25th in the country following the 2013 season.

The native of Jacksonville, Fla., was a four-year letterwinner as a linebacker at Florida and was the team’s captain in 2002 as a senior. During that season, Hardmon was named second team All-SEC and helped lead the Gators to the Outback Bowl. Hardmon not only excelled on the field but also off it as well. He was a three-time Academic All-SEC honoree and won the Betty Capaldi GPA Award. He ranked second in the SEC and fourth in the nation in tackles and set a Florida single-season tackle record. Hardmon also won Florida’s coveted Ferguson Leadership award in 2002.

Hardmon spent the 2003-06 seasons on three NFL rosters: the Miami Dolphins (2003), the Seattle Seahawks (2004) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2005). He also played three seasons in NFL Europe, winning a World Bowl title in 2007 with Hamburg.

Hardmon returned to football in 2009 after two years in the private business sector. He worked as the co-owner of S & S Trucking in Jacksonville, Fla., while also establishing a very successful real estate career.

He spent three seasons (2009-11) as a graduate assistant at Illinois, including the final two years under Vic Koenning, who is Troy’s defensive coordinator.

In 2011, Hardmon helped tutor a defensive line that broke the school record with 41 sacks and ranked fourth nationally in tackles for loss (7.9 per game) and sixth nationally in sacks (3.2 per game). Defensive end Whitney Mercilus had a breakout year, earning consensus first team All-America honors after leading the nation in sacks (16.0) and forced fumbles (9). Mercilus was drafted in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.

Hardmon helped guide a budding star in 2010 in defensive tackle Corey Liuget, who was a first-round pick of the San Diego Chargers in the 2011 NFL Draft. Liuget and Akeem Spence combined for 108 tackles, the most by a pair of Illini defensive tackles since 1993, and Phil Steele and Rivals.com named Spence a Freshman All-American.

Prior to his stint at Idaho, Hardmon served as the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach at Charleston Southern. Hardmon helped transform the Buccaneers from an 0-11 team to the prior year to a 5-6 squad.

Hardmon graduated from the University of Florida in 2003 with a degree in sociology and earned his master’s degree in organizational leadership from the University of Illinois in 2011. He is married to the former Danerica Wright and the couple has one son, Bryson (2).

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My vote for next DL coach: Bam Hardmon

Re: My vote for next DL coach: Bam Hardmon

Re: My vote for next DL coach: Bam Hardmon

Re: My vote for next DL coach: Bam Hardmon

Larry Johnson-Ohio State or Terry Price-Texas A&M are my picks***

Nice call... I wonder who Dabo has in his little black book.***

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