Last year the Bucs had a virtual musical chairs game with their offensive lineman; Only Donald Penn the left tackle played in every game the whole season. Everyone else was hurt at some point, and a virtual unknown took his place; and succeeded!
We know Keydrick Vincent took the LG spot from Jeremy Zuttah, but Zuttah excelled as a back up for Jeff Faine at Center. IN came Ted Larsen when Vincent was cut and he excelled. Right Tackle Jeremy Trueblood went down, and James Lee filled in even better, and became the starter when Trueblood returned to good health.
But few remember the RG that replaced Davin Joseph when he went down too.
That was Right Guard Derek Hardman, todays feature player in the 2010 Bucs Lookback.
This video clip is from the Detroit Lions game where Hardman started, and shows LeGarrette Blount running off his right guard spot which he clears perfectly. The result is a 25+ yard gain.
Hardman was actually noticed when he was a High School player for Roane Co. High School, and Scout.com picked up his info as he was leaning toward Ohio State. Hardman instead went to school in Eastern Kentucky, and he was, you guessed it, another of Mark Dominik’s free agent finds! The number of players in 2010 who were not drafted by the Bucs or signed as big free agents is amazing. Derek Hardman should compete for the backup spot if the Bucs can re-sign Davin Joseph.
To watch the Derek Hardman video in your browser full HD, click this link.
To check out the article on Derek Hardman when he was at Roane Co. High School, click here…
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