Rolijah Hardy

Rolijah Hardy started every game of Indiana's run to the national championship game and racked up 8.5 sacks from off the ball -- rare for a linebacker. He came back instead of chasing an early jump. The engine is back.

LB · Indiana · Cl 2 · #21

CFB Zeitgeist 96

Hardy was the motor of Indiana's title-game defense: 103 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks while starting all 16 games of the deepest run in school history, earning second-team All-Big Ten. The 8.5 sacks are the eye-opener -- that kind of blitz production from an off-ball linebacker is rare, and it ranked him top-five nationally at the position in tackles for loss. At 5-11, 229 he plays bigger than his frame. The forward stakes are recognition catching up to production: he's been the underrated engine of an elite defense, and 2026 is the year a player this disruptive turns "underrated" into All-America. He came back to finish what Indiana started.

PLAY STYLE

Hardy is a high-motor, blitzing linebacker whose calling card is backfield production from an off-ball spot. The 8.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss are the tell: he times pressures, beats blockers in the hole, and finishes -- the kind of disruption usually reserved for edge players. At 5-11, 229 he's not the biggest, but he plays downhill with real pop and covers ground. He's an every-down engine -- a tackle-machine in the run game (103 stops) and a pressure threat on passing downs -- the connective tissue of a defense that played in the national championship game. The production has been elite; 2026 is about the name catching up to it.

SOURCES

Career Arc

Recruit

—

No recruit profile

CFB

College

Indiana

2024–2025

NFL

NFL Draft

—

Not drafted (yet)

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 entries

🎖

ALL-CONFERENCE

All-Conf mention (2025)

All-Big Ten

Coaching Lineage · 2024–2025

1 coach

2024

Curt Cignetti

Indiana

2025

Curt Cignetti

Indiana

Played his entire career under Curt Cignetti.

2025 snapshot

Season context · Team result + system

2024Indiana11-2HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-leaning

2025Indiana16-0HC: Curt Cignetti · Run-heavy

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort

96Elite

6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles for loss (99th). Strength: sacks (99th).

Tackles for loss#21 / 2975 · 99th pct

15.0defe

Sacks#27 / 2975 · 99th pct

8.0defe

Tackles#42 / 2975 · 99th pct

103defe

Solo tackles#90 / 2975 · 97th pct

48defe

Passes defended#218 / 2975 · 91st pct

5defe

QB hurries#288 / 2975 · 88th pct

4defe

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

Awards

Selector Grid · 2025

AP—

FWAA—

AFCA—

WCFF—

SN—

SI—

Trophy Case · Confirmed honors

What the selectors said

1 entries

🎖

ALL-CONFERENCE

All-Conf mention (2025)

All-Big Ten

Career stats

Defense

Season-by-season defensive box score for disruption and splash plays.

Season	Team	TOT	SOLO	TFL	SACK	PD	INT	FF
2025	IndianaFinal snapshot	103	48	15.0	8.0	5	--	--
2024	IndianaFinal snapshot	22	12	5.5	1.0	--	2	--
Career	2 loaded seasonsCareer row reflects the stat seasons currently loaded in this database.	125	60	20.5	9.0	5	2	--

Signature game

SIGNATURE GAME · Week 15 · 2025

W 13–10

at Ohio State

10 TOT · 6 SOLO · 1 SACKS

A wire-to-wire battle — won by 3 on the road.

Game log

Game Log · Week-by-week

2025 season · 16 games

Box score · CFBD

Wk	Opp	TKL	SOLO	TFL	SACK	INT	PD	Note
Wk 1	W 27-14vs Old Dominion	4	3	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 2	W 56-9vs Kennesaw State	3	0	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 3	W 73-0vs Indiana State	2	0	0.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 4	W 63-10vs Illinois	2	1	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 5	W 20-15@ Iowa	5	3	1.0	0.0	—	0
Wk 7	W 30-20@ Oregon	13	4	2.0	1.0	—	0	Season-high 13 tackles
Wk 8	W 38-13vs Michigan State	8	5	2.5	2.0	—	0	2 sacks
Wk 9	W 56-6vs UCLA	6	0	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 10	W 55-10@ Maryland	6	3	0.5	0.0	—	0
Wk 11	W 27-24@ Penn State	12	7	1.0	1.0	—	0
Wk 12	W 31-7vs Wisconsin	6	4	1.0	1.0	—	1
Wk 14	W 56-3@ Purdue	10	5	1.0	0.0	—	2
Wk 15	W 13-10@ Ohio State	10	6	1.5	1.0	—	1
Bowl	W 38-3vs Alabama	6	4	1.0	0.0	—	0
Bowl	W 56-22vs Oregon	6	1	1.0	0.0	—	0
Bowl	W 27-21vs Miami	4	2	0.0	0.0	—	1
Total		103	48	15.0	8.0	—	5

How he plays

Savant · Box-rate percentiles

Where this profile ranks vs the LB cohort

96Elite

6 metrics · season cumulative

Elite: tackles for loss (99th). Strength: sacks (99th).

Tackles for loss#21 / 2975 · 99th pct

15.0defe

Sacks#27 / 2975 · 99th pct

8.0defe

Tackles#42 / 2975 · 99th pct

103defe

Solo tackles#90 / 2975 · 97th pct

48defe

Passes defended#218 / 2975 · 91st pct

5defe

QB hurries#288 / 2975 · 88th pct

4defe

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.

PLAY STYLE

2026 Outlook

Returning to Indiana for 2026

2026 Depth chart

Projected starter

Linebacker · Indiana

Returning around him

25% of 2024 offensive production back (Heavy turnover)
8 Indiana players drafted to NFL
Transfer portal: +1 net (17 in / 16 out)

2026 Award watch

No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)

Indiana · Last season: 16-0 (AP #1) · Talent rank #72 · 2026 recruiting class #47

Perception vs tape

Rolijah Hardy started every game of Indiana's run to the national championship game and racked up 8.5 sacks from off the ball — rare for a linebacker. He came back instead of chasing an early jump. The engine is back.

Hardy was the motor of Indiana's title-game defense: 103 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 8.5 sacks while starting all 16 games of the deepest run in school history, earning second-team All-Big Ten. The 8.5 sacks are the eye-opener — that kind of blitz production from an off-ball linebacker is rare, and it ranked him top-five nationally at the position in tackles for loss. At 5-11, 229 he plays bigger than his frame. The forward stakes are recognition catching up to production: he's been the underrated engine of an elite defense, and 2026 is the year a player this disruptive turns "underrated" into All-America. He came back to finish what Indiana started.

How he plays

Hardy is a high-motor, blitzing linebacker whose calling card is backfield production from an off-ball spot. The 8.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss are the tell: he times pressures, beats blockers in the hole, and finishes — the kind of disruption usually reserved for edge players. At 5-11, 229 he's not the biggest, but he plays downhill with real pop and covers ground. He's an every-down engine — a tackle-machine in the run game (103 stops) and a pressure threat on passing downs — the connective tissue of a defense that played in the national championship game. The production has been elite; 2026 is about the name catching up to it.

2026 outlook · as of 2026-06-13

src

DNA match

Player DNA

The Coverage 'Backer

Carries tight ends and patrols the middle of the field in coverage.

His 2025 production profile sits closest to Chandler Martin’s 2024 season.

Chandler Martin

82%match

Memphis · 2024

All-AAC

Drake Thomas

NC State · 2022

All-ACC

70%

Cal Wallerstedt

UTEP · 2022

66%

Kyle Louis

Pittsburgh · 2024

All-ACCNFL Rd 4

65%

Drake Thomas

NC State · 2021

All-ACC

64%

Matches Chandler on

Tackle volume

Weight

Sack rate

Not enough data yet for this comparison.

As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Chandler Martin's sophomore season at Memphis (2024).

Chandler Martin

75%match

Memphis · 2024

All-AAC

Drake Thomas

NC State · 2021

All-ACC

74%

Kyle Louis

Pittsburgh · 2024

All-ACCNFL Rd 4

71%

Terrel Bernard

Baylor · 2021

All-Big 12NFL Rd 3 · Pk 25

71%

Sammy Brown

Clemson · 2025

All-ACC

66%

Matches Chandler on

PD rate

Tackle volume

Sack rate

Differs from Chandler on

Class year (lower)

Peer comparator

Peer Comparator · Fingerprint match

Three closest profiles by box-rate percentile

3 peers · 6 metrics

Rolijah HardyIndianaSammy BrownClemson· 97% simRasheem BilesPittsburgh· 97% simCade UluaveCalifornia· 95% sim

Tackles for loss

99
Hardy

99
Brown

100
Biles

98
Uluave

Sacks

99
Hardy

97
Brown

95
Biles

89
Uluave

Tackles

99
Hardy

99
Brown

98
Biles

98
Uluave

Solo tackles

97
Hardy

98
Brown

91
Biles

94
Uluave

Passes defended

91
Hardy

91
Brown

86
Biles

86
Uluave

QB hurries

88
Hardy

95
Brown

88
Biles

88
Uluave

Closest peers by overall box-score percentile profile at the same position.