AL Brown turns to another Hardin, Justin Hardin, to lead high school football program
Another Hardin is heading to Kannapolis.
Monday night, former AL Brown football player Justin Hardin was approved by the Kannapolis City School Board to become the 17th Wonders’ head football coach in school history. Hardin, who played at AL Brown in the ‘90s, is the son of former Brown coach Bruce Hardin.
“Being back is special,” Justin Hardin said. “To be a player here and then come back as the head football coach, that’s an opportunity that most people don’t get to have in their lifetime. And to do that where I grew up and come back to this town, which has always been home for me...it couldn’t be more special for me.”
Hardin said coaching at Brown was something he always thought about.
“I’ve been coaching 18 years,” he said, “and every Friday night, and no matter where I’ve coached, I’ve always checked up on the Wonders and see how they did.”
As a player at AL Brown, Justin Hardin and his twin brother Blair -- now coaching high school football in South Carolina -- helped the Wonders win the 1997 N.C. state championship. Justin Hardin was the team’s starting quarterback in the ‘98 and ‘99 seasons on back-to-back conference championship teams.
The brothers came to The Citadel in the fall of 2020, the same season their father was hired as offensive coordinator. Now at least one of Kannapolis’ most famous families is going back home.
“I’ve had multiple conversations with my dad and my brother,” Hardin said. “They’re my biggest fans. They couldn’t be more excited that I’m coming home. I spent the weekend with my brother last weekend and he can’t wait to get up here and (my dad) can’t wait to come back up here and sit in the stands and watch me coach where I played.”
Replacing a N.C. great
At Brown, Justin Hardin will replace Mike Newsome, who resigned in March after coaching at Brown for 12 seasons.
Newsome’s teams at Brown were 97-49 and had four seasons with at least 10 wins. Before coming to Brown, Newsome built a national power at Butler High in Matthews, where he ran up a record of 93-17 and won two state championships. Newsome left Butler with a 31-game winning streak.
Hardin has been at Charlotte Latin since July of 2016, when he was hired as defensive coordinator. He was also an assistant at Latin from 2007-2009.
When longtime Charlotte Latin coach Larry McNulty resigned after the 2017 season, Hardin took over the job. In five seasons at Latin, from 2018-22, Hardin’s teams went 27-21. Last season, Latin was 5-5.
In addition to Latin, Hardin coached two seasons at Weddington High, going 14-11; two seasons at Providence, where his teams were 18-9; and one season at Independence, when the Patriots were 8-5 and reached the second round of the playoffs.
Hardin is a native of Kannapolis who completed his Bachelor of Science in Heath Exercise and Sports Science at The Citadel, where he played quarterback on the football team and was the team captain.
Hardin and his wife, Lindsey, have been married for six years. They have two daughters, Julia, 3, and Evie, 1. Hardin said he plans to be in Kannapolis for a long time.
“It’s home,” he said, “and I’ve been all in. This is where I want to raise my girls. There’s been four coaches in almost 50 years and to be able to coach where my father coached and where I played....that’s important to me, to be a part of that and for my family to be a part of that. And the high expectations here? You want to work in a place where there’s high expectations. To me that’s a challenge, but it’s a good challenge. We’ve got work to do and there’s enough support here with the administration -- and coach Newsome’s been great, and the kids -- that we can be competitive and do some good things.”
Latin promotes from within to replace Hardin
▪ Charlotte Latin has already named Hardin’s replacement. Drew Dayton was promoted from within. He was an assistant on the Hawks team last year.
Charlotte Latin will return eight starters and 11 lettermen.
PHOTOS: Justin Hardin through the years
This story was originally published May 8, 2023 at 6:45 PM.
