By Blake Colston
Sports Editor
STILLWATER – Central Michigan pulled out all the stops Thursday night during its upset bid of No. 12 Oklahoma State, including some trickery on a first-half kickoff return.
Piedmont alum Bo Hardy wasn’t fooled.
Trailing 44-15 in the waning seconds of the first half, Central Michigan was hoping to spark a rally with a big kickoff return.
As Chippewa running back Myles Bailey fielded the kick near the goal line, he sprinted forward and met five other CMU players near the 10-yard line. After a brief convergence, Bailey emerged from the huddle with the ball while his teammates scattered in different directions.
Momentarily, it looked like CMU might’ve fooled OSU’s kickoff coverage team as Bailey ran free down the visiting sideline, but Hardy tracked him down just past Central Michigan’s 25-yard line for his first career college tackle.
Central Michigan’s special teams coach called in The Flying V pic.twitter.com/hADOpXJMWT
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 2, 2022
OSU went on to win the game 58-44.
Hardy is listed as a 5-foot-11, 210-pound redshirt sophomore linebacker on the Cowboys official roster.
Leading up to the season opener, Hardy was recognized as the Pokes’ Scout Team Special Teams Player of the Week by head coach Mike Gundy.
As a senior at PHS, Hardy totaled 170 tackles and seven sacks.
