The Cal 100 -- No. 63: Hardy Nickerson

Linebacker was a tackling machine over 20 seasons at Cal and in the NFL.

We count down the top 100 individuals associated with Cal athletics, based on their impact in sports or in the world at large – a wide-open category. See if you agree.

No. 63: Hardy Nickerson

Cal Sports Connection: Nickerson played four seasons at Cal, collecting 501 career tackles and earning first-team All-Pac-10 honors as a senior. He was head coach last fall at Bishop O'Dowd High School, where six of his assistants were fellow Cal alums.

Claim to Fame: In 16 NFL seasons, Nickerson totaled 1,586 tackles, made the Pro Bowl five times and was first- or second-team All-Pro four times.

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Hardy Nickerson played a combined 20 seasons at Cal and in the NFL and he was a busy man over those two decades.

Nickerson, who checks in at No. 63 in The Cal 100, made 501 tackles in four seasons (1983-86) at Cal and 1,586 more over 16 years (1987-2002) with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers.

That adds up to 2,087 tackles — a lot of collisions on a football field. And that doesn’t include his 105 tackles as a senior at Verbum Dei High School in Los Angeles, where he helped his team assemble a 25-game win streak that included 13 shutouts.

Linebacker Hardy Nickerson

Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

Nickerson’s 167 tackles as a Cal junior in 1985 stood as the program record for 34 years, until Evan Weaver accumulated 182 in 2019.

His 214 tackles for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1993 are the most by an NFL player since 1987.

Rarely has Cal produced a football player as prolific at both the college and professional level. His career total for tackles remains No. 2 all-time (behind David Ortega) with the Bears.

Nickerson played under the late coach Joe Kapp at Cal and alongside teammates including Ron Rivera,, Dwight Garner, Majett Whiteside and Troy Taylor. His connection with his alma mater remains strong.

Last fall, Nickerson, now 57, began a second stint as head coach at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland. His staff has a decidedly Golden Bear flavor: alums Whiteside (assistant head coach/defensive coordinator), Tarik Glenn (offensive line), Jahvid Best (running backs), Hardy Nickerson Jr. (linebackers), Sean Bullard Sr. (tight ends) and Na’il Benjamin (assistant).

Nickerson was Cal’s leading tackler his final three seasons, earning first-team All-Pac-10 honors as a junior in ’85.

The Steelers drafted the 6-foot-2, 230-pound middle linebacker in the fifth round in 1987 and Nickerson went on to accumulate 90 tackles or more 10 times in his career, and more than 100 in eight of those.

His best years were with Tampa Bay, earning Pro Bowl honors five times in seven seasons and first-team All-Pro in 1993 and ’97. He was second-team All-Pro in ’96 and ’99. His other career numbers include 21 sacks, 12 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries.

Nickerson was voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1990s second team during a 10-year stretch where he piled up 1,201 tackles. His career total ranks eighth in NFL history, behind the likes of Ray Lewis, Junior Seau and Derrick Brooks.

In 1998, Nickerson was honored with the Byron “Whizzer White” Man of the Year Award -- now called the NFLPA Alan Page Community Award --given to the player who best serves his team, community and country in the spirit of White, a former Supreme Court justice, professional football player, and humanitarian.

His impact off the field also included joining Reggie White in a 1992 lawsuit against the NFL seeking free agency for players who had not signed contracts for the following season. The landmark case led to greater freedom for players, giving them negotiating leverage.

Nickerson also has done philanthropic and mentoring work, including on the topics of racial and social justice. He made a presentation to law enforcement at FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

A 2004 inductee into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame, Nickerson had three different coaching jobs working under Lovie Smith, starting in 2007 when he coached linebackers for the Chicago Bears under Smith as defensive coordinator. Subsequently they worked together in Tampa and at the University of Illinois.

"Special relationship with Hardy Nickerson,” Smith said, “and I don't hide it at all. Love the guy, love what he stands for.”

-- No. 64: Shareef Abdur-Rahim 

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Cover photo of Hardy Nickerson making a tackle for Tampa Bay by USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo