Football: Supermick

An all-round athlete leads a hectic life, particularly at Notre Dame, where legend is the game's middle name. Take Kevin Hardy, 22. He can break 80 on anyone's golf course, execute a perfect jackknife off a diving board, or play expert handball. But rarely does Hardy have the time. He has had to give up basketball altogether—a fact that saddens Irish fans who remember Hardy as a sophomore, coming off the bench to break up a game with Ohio University. Kevin also had to skip spring football practice this year because he was busy batting .398 for Notre Dame's baseball team. Now, as if he does not have enough to do trying to catch up on all the tactical instruction and contact work he missed, Football Coach Ara Parseghian is making him learn a new position.

Immovable Member. It is Hardy's own fault. Anyone who stands 6 ft. 5 in., weighs 280 lbs. and can run 40 yds. in five seconds was obviously wasted at defensive tackle—or any one position—even if he was the No. 1 tackle on the No. 1 team in the nation.

The most immovable member of last year's unbeaten Irish squad that held ten opponents to an average of 3.8 points per game, Hardy contributed 79 tackles, also handled the punting, was voted to three All-America teams. This year Parseghian has shifted him to end, where his talents can be put to better use harassing enemy passers and running down fleet halfbacks. "At tackle," explains Hardy, "all I had to do was plug a hole. If I made a mistake, only God saw me. Now if I make a mistake, the whole stadium sees it."

Fond Memories. By his own count, Hardy made three mistakes in Notre Dame's opening game against California. If so, the beleaguered Bears missed them. What they saw was Hardy hurdling blockers to dump Cal's quarterback for a 16 yd. loss, intercepting one pass and smashing down two others as Notre Dame romped to a 41-8 victory.

How much Hardy's hulking presence means was embarrassingly evident against archrival Purdue last week. In the first quarter, he limped off the field with a sprained ankle—and the ballgame went with him. Boilermaker Halfback Leroy Keyes ran wild through the weakened Irish defense, Quarterback Mike Phipps hit on 14 out of 34 passes, and underdog Purdue upset Notre Dame, 28-21.

Even on a squad that includes such stars as Quarterback Terry Hanratty (who completed 29 out of 63 passes last week) and End Jim Seymour (who caught eight for 114 yds.), Kevin Hardy is a stick-out. It is not just because he is the biggest man on the team and is missing two front teeth, but more because he calls up fond memories of the days when giants roamed the Irish loam. Notre Dame's athletic director, Edward ("Moose") Krause calls Hardy "one of the greatest athletes we've ever had here"—no mean compliment considering that Notre Dame has produced the likes of Knute Rockne, Johnny Lujack and the legendary George Gipp. Fans call Hardy Supermick.