IU’s dynamic duo

Any two dynamic players put together on the football field can equal a powerful duo.\nWell, last year Kellen Lewis and James Hardy found each other, and they continue to put together jaw-dropping performances in their second year together. Now, as they begin Big Ten play, the aura of the Lewis/Hardy tandem will be put to the test.\n“They’re both good football players,” Lynch said. “I think the longer guys play together, the better feel they have for one another, and that’s two good football players who hopefully will keep going because they’ve played pretty well to this point.”\nSince Lewis first appeared in the Hoosiers’ 24-23 win over Ball State on Sept. 9, 2006, the sophomore quarterback and the junior wide receiver have made something of a name for themselves. In 12 games, Lewis has found his favorite target 53 times for 816 yards and 14 touchdowns.\n“It’s not enough,” Hardy said. “If we have to score 10 touchdowns in a game, we’re going to have to step up and take the responsibility.”\nWhat may be even more striking than simply the numbers they have produced is that the two got better during Big Ten play last year. In an upset win over then-No. 13 Iowa on Oct. 14, Hardy caught eight balls for 104 yards and three touchdowns. Two weeks later, Lewis found the 6-foot-7 wideout in the end zone four times as the Hoosiers drubbed Michigan State 46-21.\nSince then, the two have hooked up for 100-plus yard games three times, and two more multi-touchdown games. And they’re not done yet.\n“Coming from high school, I don’t think I had a receiver over 6’1”,” Lewis said. “The idea of me just throwing it up is kind of hard for me.\n“It’s another one of those things that once he does it once, then you just get more and more confidence, and the more and more he does it, then the more and more you don’t mind taking that 50/50 risk, or in his case, because of his height, a 90/10 risk.”\nThat risk has certainly come with reward. \nIn the four times Hardy has caught more than one touchdown in a game, the Hoosiers won. In the season opener against Indiana State this year, Hardy reeled in 58- and 79-yard touchdown passes.\n“It’s exciting,” junior wide receiver James Bailey said. “It’s exciting watching them make plays, because we’re all on the same team and each play counts.”\nHaving helped each other out immensely, Hardy currently sits in fifth place for total touchdowns in IU history with 26. He is in second place for wide receivers, four scoring catches short of Jade Butcher’s 30. Lewis has also moved into sixth place in total touchdowns with 25.\n“It’s an honor for me to actually have my name recognized with those other guys that are Indiana legends,” Hardy said. “It’s an honor for me to be in that category.”\nIn preparation for this season – and Big Ten play – Lewis and Hardy continued to develop the rapport they built in their first season working with each other. Practicing routes, watching videotape and even taking a trip to Disney World gave Lynch’s playmakers a fair amount of summer work.\nHardy also said he watched video of Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson as well because, in order to be the best, he said, you have to study the best. But when asked if he follows any of the wideout talent in the Big Ten, Hardy said he doesn’t, choosing to concentrate on his play over that of other receivers.\nWith the talent the Big Ten possesses at quarterback, such as Michigan’s Chad Henne and Purdue’s Curtis Painter – who throw to Biletnikoff Award candidates Mario Manningham and Dorien Bryant, respectively, Lewis said he is somewhere in the middle of the conference among signal callers.\n“He is just a sophomore still, and I think we get ahead of ourselves in where he is,” Lynch said. “He is obviously a talented young guy and a very good quarterback that has matured since his first start.”\nAfter having garnered plenty of respect for their play, the only thing eluding Lewis and Hardy would be a berth in a bowl game. The desire to “play 13” has suddenly become a real possibility after the duo led a potent offense to a 3-1 start to open the season.\nAnd with talent on both sides of the ball not seen in Bloomington in recent years, Lewis and Hardy have the talent and motivation to bring the Hoosiers something they haven’t had in 14 years – a chance to play past Thanksgiving.