When Hardy Nickerson first came to the University of California in 2012 as a freshman he says he didn't know what to expect. Lost in the shadows of a veteran group of linebackers on the Golden Bears' depth chart, the redshirting Nickerson did all he could.

“I just put my head down and focused on what I could control,” Nickerson said of his time as freshman.

Nearly four years later as he and the Bears begin spring football today, the son of Cal Athletic Hall of Famer and 16-year NFL linebacker Hardy Nickerson Sr. is the one mentoring the younger Bears and will be both the face and leader of the defense in 2016.

“Hardy is the bell cow for our football team,” head coach Sonny Dykes said. “If you ask who the leader is and the one guy that everybody can count on in the program, Hardy's the guy.”

Nickerson's improvement from his sophomore to junior year was most notable. As a sophomore in 2014, Nickerson ended the 12-game season with 69 tackles, starting half of the season's contests at the MIKE linebacker position. His leadership on the field and in the locker room gave his teammates the confidence to name him a team captain in 2015. 

Nickerson backed up that confidence by earning honorable mention All-Pac-12 honor last season when as a junior he started every game at the MIKE and finished 2015 as the team leader in tackles with 112 — the third most in the Pac-12.

“I'm excited about him and his growth,” Dykes said. “I thought he really improved last season and we're expecting big things out of him.”

With former defensive standouts such as Kyle Kragen, Mustafa Jalil, Jalen Jefferson, Stefan McClure, Darius White and others finishing their collegiate careers last season, Nickerson takes over as the face of the defensive side of the ball in 2016.

Nickerson says he's a lead by example type of player, but he's certainly not afraid to speak up in a calm and collected way.

“After a practice or game I'll take a young player to the side and we'll go over what we need to do to be better,” Nickerson said.

Nickerson contributes familiarity to the current defense for his surge in success. After playing under three different defensive coordinators in his first three seasons at Cal, the Oakland native who prepped at Bishop O'Dowd High School enters his third year under current defensive coordinator Art Kaufman and has finally become comfortable not only with the scheme but with himself.

Both Nickerson and Kaufman explained the key to Nickerson's improvement has been his growth of self-confidence that has come with thousands of reps in practice and games. There's arguably no one on the current Cal team that has improved as much as Nickerson during his collegiate career

“Hardy is the hardest working player I have ever coached in my 30 years of coaching,” said Kaufman, who will also coach the linebackers this season. “His dedication to game and to get better has been unmatched and a reason why we have so much confidence in him to be our leader.”

Nickerson says a lot of his leadership skills have come from his famous father who preceded him at Cal and taught him about the university, and there is arguably no player more loyal and close to the program than a son of two Cal alums who has a twin sister that also attended Cal. He has seen the program go through many transformations. To him, being considered a leader is more than just a title.

“A leader is someone that is looked upon to always be doing the right thing,” Nickerson said. “A leader is someone who should be responsible and can rally together a group of guys. For my team and coaches to have that kind of confidence in me means the world and makes this last season even more special.”