Maddux Trujillo was the American Athletic Conference’s best kicker this past season and among the best at his position nationally, but he’s been telling anyone who would listen that Temple would have been just fine with Carl Hardin had Trujillo been elsewhere.
Through 15 spring practices, Hardin went out and proved him right.
Before he and teammates Lucas Glassburn and Darren Wu routinely ended the Owls’ practices with made field goals, Hardin had already earned some peace of mind - a scholarship. New Temple head coach K.C. Keeler said last month that had heard enough from Trujillo and seen enough from Hardin to know he needed to put Hardin on scholarship or perhaps risk losing him to another program.
“That was huge,” Hardin said of earning a scholarship. “I kind of wanted to live up to the coaches that were believing in me that were already here in the past putting in a good word to Coach Keeler, and I just wanted to make them proud and show what I can do.”
Each of Temple’s 14 previous spring practices were open to the media. Last Saturday, fans got to see for themselves that Hardin looks more than ready to fill the shoes of Trujillo, who set a Lincoln Financial Field record with a 64-yard field goal last season before earning an NFL Combine invite. Although Hardin wasn’t tested from that distance in the Cherry and White game, he did knock down field goals from 36 and 43 yards out with solid accuracy that impressed the crowd at Chodoff Field.
On a day when a late touchdown pass from Evan Simon to Peter Clarke marked the offense’s lone trip to the end zone, the kicking game was a bright spot.
“You can see we can kick field goals,” Keeler said. “We’ve got to score touchdowns, but we can kick field goals.”
Wu transferred in from Lafayette prior to last season without the guarantee of a roster spot, and Glassburn arrived at Temple prior to the 2024 season as a preferred walk-on out of Florida’s Windmere High School. Glassburn’s leg strength might be a tick below Hardin’s, but he hit 48- and 38-yard kicks last Saturday with relative ease, and Wu converted from 44 yards.
Hardin, a 5-foot-9, 160-pound redshirt sophomore from North Carolina’s Broughton High School, has shown flashes of being able to hit from 60 yards and a little beyond this spring. Being able to do it a little more consistently, he said, has been part of his growth.
“I think as a freshman I could hit 60 yards, but I think I’ve gotten way more consistent from that range now,” Hardin said after the Cherry and White game. “I would have to hit a really great ball and I’d kind of be getting lucky to hit a 60-yarder then. Now I’m attempting a lot more but it’s still kind of an everyday thing.”
Hardin credited much of his ability to grow from his experience to learning behind a talented kicker like Trujillo. While Hardin didn’t see the field in 2024, he took it as a learning opportunity.
“[Trujillo’s] just really detailed about it,” Hardin said. “One of the biggest things that he says is when you're back in your stance and about to kick a field goal, you just have to stay as calm as possible. You pick a line of right where you want to kick the ball and commit to that. Try not to think much and just do your thing. Do what you know how to do.”
While the Owls will have a lot of holes to address during the upcoming transfer portal window, Hardin’s emergence and the development of Glassburn and Wu behind him has ensured that kicker will be the least of Temple’s worries.
“I’m just going to try and be as consistent as possible and do what I know how to do,” Hardin said. “I’ve kicked so many field goals in practice. I just got to use that and make sure I can capitalize for that one opportunity I get in the game but just really try to be at maximum consistency.”
