Football
Jonquis "JQ" Hardaway - Football - University of Kentucky Athletics 6

Jonquis "JQ"Hardaway

  • position Defensive Back
  • height 6-3
  • Weight 191
  • class Junior
  • Hometown Columbus, Ga.
  • High school Central Phenix City (Ala.)
  • Previous School Cincinnati

2023 – Sophomore
• Transferred to Kentucky after one season at the University of Cincinnati (2022), his true freshman season
• Rated as the No. 9 overall player in the transfer portal by 247sports
• Saw action in all 13 games for UK in 2023 with one start, his first career start vs. Alabama
• Totaled 28 tackles, 1.0 tackles for loss, four pass breakups and a quarterback hurry
• Totaled a career-high six tackles to go along with a TFL, a PBU and a quarterback hurry in the bowl game vs. Clemson
• Got a career-high two PBUs in the win over Akron

2022 – Freshman
• Played 11 games for the Bearcats
• Totaled a sack, four unassisted tackles and seven total tackles
• Had a season-best game vs. Temple when he logged three total tackles in the game
• Earned preseason True Freshman All-America team honors from ESPN.com

High School
• Consensus four-star recruit
• Four-year letterwinner at defensive back and wide receiver in high school
• Played senior year at Phenix City (Ala.) Central for head coach Patrick Nix
• Spent three seasons at Hardaway High School in Columbus, Georgia for head coach Michael Woolridge
• Rated among the Top 10 players in the talent-rich state of Alabama and among the Top 15 defensive backs in the country
• Led Central to a runner-up finish in the 2021 Alabama Class 7A State Championship
• Named first-team All-State by the Alabama Sports Writers Association as a senior in 2021
• Selected to play in the 2022 Under Armour All-America Game
• Was an honorable mention All-State selection by the Atlanta Journal Constitution as a junior in 2020 at Hardaway
• Had 28 scholarship offers coming out of high school

Personal
• First name is Jonquis but goes by “JQ”
• Born in Columbus, Georgia
•  Son of Kawana Green and Gary Hardaway
• Has one younger brother, Xavier
• Major is health promotion with a minor in coaching

JQ Says
• His nickname is “JQ”
• Other than play in the NFL, his dream job is to be a coach or TV analyst
• One thing most people don’t know about him is that he is not a morning person
• Three words to describe him are funny, tall and loving
• Besides playing football, he’s also really good at video games

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