Penn State head coach James Franklin picked up a member of the 2019 class on National Signing Day who wasn’t even a commit a day earlier. Penn State waited until Tuesday to offer Pittsburgh native Daequan Hardy, and he later committed that night before officially signing with the Nittany Lions Wednesday.
Playing for Penn Hills, an annually strong high school program near Pittsburgh, Hardy was a versatile player with both good ball skills and speed. Penn State recruited him as a cornerback, having assistant coach Terry Smith take the lead in recruiting Hardy. Smith has strong ties to the Western PA high school football scene, having been a coach at Gateway High School.