Hardesty has four recruiting hard

New Bern, N.C. running back Montario Hardesty currently has 18 offers on the table and has had a busy off-season attending camps and making unofficial visits.

With offers from Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest to name a few, Hardesty will have plenty of options to choose from.

A 6-foot-0, 190-pound tailback, Hardesty wants to cut his list down to five teams by the time his season starts.

“I’m hoping to narrow my list in the near future and begin setting up official visits,” admitted Hardesty. “I’ll take my official visits during the season and hopefully reach a decision sometime after the season. I'd like to see schools on weekends where games are going on if possible.”

Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Nebraska and North Carolina are recruiting him the hardest.

“Those four schools send me a lot of hand-written mail every day and I think I fit into their offenses well,” he said. “But, I’ve got no leaders right now, I need to do some more research and figure some things out first.”

While Hardesty claims no leaders, he did share what he liked about some of the schools working hard for his services.

"Nebraska has a really good class coming in, and I like the new coaching staff they have there. North Carolina has struggled the past few seasons, but they’re really committed to winning and I think I could play early," he said. “I like the facilities at Virginia Tech and North Carolina State and they like to run the ball a lot and throw to their backs at times."

Hardesty earned all-conference and all-area honors as a junior and was an honorable mention to the all-state team. As a junior, he rushed for 1,987 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also caught 13 passes for 307 yards and two more scores. Some have said he could be a wideout in college, but Hardesty wants to play tailback.

"I'm a running back," he said. "That's what I want to be."