Player Interview: Dre'Mail Hardin

I recently had the chance to interview Dre’Mail Hardin, a talented prospect from Stillman College, a Division II school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He transferred there from Mississippi State after his freshman season and has had an extremely productive career, notching 16 interceptions in 32 games. Just talking to him you get the feeling he’s going to be something special at the next level.

"I have the goal of trying to be the best to ever play the game"

-Dre'Mail Hardin

Some awards Hardin has won:
First Team All SIAC (2008)

Honorable Mention All-American (2008)
First-Team Preseason All-SIAC (2008)
First-Team All-SIAC (2007)

SIAC Player of the Year Finalist (2007)

D2Football.com All-America (2007)


JP: What is your current height/weight/40 time?

DH: My height, weight is 6’ ¾” 206; I ran a 4.6 at my pro day last year, and I recently benched 225 19 or 20 times. I’m going to work out March 8th at the Alabama pro day with Sammie Lee Hill.


JP: How are you getting physically prepared for the draft?

DH: I’m training at Velocity Sports in Memphis, TN with Rob Weatherly. I’m working out with Phillip from Memphis, Rob, he played in the AFL, Jeremy LeSueur out of Michigan, he was a 3rd rounder a couple years back, and a LB from Miami, he’s been out a year.


JP: Are there any players in the NFL you would compare yourself to?

DH: Brian Dawkins. I love the way Ed Reed plays but I play more like Brian Dawkins.


JP: What are your strengths as a player?

DH: Being physical, hitting, tackling, good angles, I like to think of myself as a ballhawk.


JP: What areas do you think you could improve?

DH: Being on an island. Sometimes I played a little corner at Stillman. Right now I’m working on playing 10 yards back, out of the box. In college I did a lot of tackling.


JP: Who is the best WR you’ve ever faced?

DH: It has to be Jacoby Jones, or Chad Jackson, who played at Hoover when I was in high school.


JP: Who are some of your teammates that you think have a shot at playing in the NFL?

DH: Quinn Porter he’s been a TB, he’ll probably be more like a WR or H-Back in the league. Darren Mack, he’s a linebacker. Oliver Wells, a DB, he’s pretty good. He’s coming along. He played as a true freshman last year.


JP: What kind of experience do you have on special teams, and do you think you could help a team in that role?

DH: Definitely, I blocked 6 or 7 kicks last year; I think I played a big role on special teams. I definitely could help a team there and I love playing special teams. A lot of people have a tendency to take those off but I loved those. I played on every special team in college.


JP: What is the greatest moment of your athletic career?

DH: It would probably have to be HS when we beat County High 17-0, it was our archrival and they had Le’Ron McClain. I had some good times at Stillman. I returned a 102-yard interception against Miles College my Junior Year. We played Lane in St. Louis and I had 2 interceptions and double-digit tackles, I returned a blocked FG for 100 yards and at the end of the game I had a game saving interception. High school was probably the best one though because I played both ways, I played WR and TB. I returned a kick for 40 or 50 yards against County High. In college I didn’t play any offense.


JP: What’s your favorite NFL team?

DH: Oakland Raiders, they always had some of my favorite players. I kind of picked that up from my dad when I was little. They had Rod & Charles Woodson. I loved the players. They were the original bad boys, I loved the way they played the game, and they were nasty with it.


JP: What do you like to do in your free time?

DH: I have a little girl now so I love playing with her; I play a lot of poker and house games, play on the Internet sometimes. And I do a lot of bowling; I bowl 3 times a week, and Xbox 360. My tag is Mel18free, because that’s my nickname and my position.


JP: Do you have any plans after football?

DH: Well I’m in the middle of trying to own my own recreation center. I want to own one and maybe run that after football. I want to own a couple apartment complexes but mainly it would be my recreation center for kids.


JP: Why should a team take you on April 25th/26th?

DH: I think my biggest thing is physical ability. I don’t have the goal of making it to the NFL, I have the goal of making it to the Pro Bowl. I have the goal of trying to be the best to ever play the game. My play is going to determine how much I love the game. I’ll be loyal to the team, I love X’s and O’s and studying. It’s also how much of a person I am off the field. I could help in multiple ways. I’m loyal, determined, and a hard worker.


Dre'Mail Hardin's Official Website


2007 Highlights


2008 Highlights