2016 Senior

• All-Big Ten honorable mention (coaches and media)
• Phil Steele All-Big Ten third team
• Team captain
• Started all 12 games at linebacker
• Led Illinois with 107 tackles (38 solo)
• 5.5 TFLs, 2.0 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 qb hurry, 1 fumble recovery
• Fourth in the Big Ten in tackles per game (8.9) during the regular season
• Finished his career with 353 career tackles
• Sixth among active FBS players in career tackles at the end of the regular season
• 10+ tackles in seven of 12 games
• Career-high two interceptions vs. Purdue
• Season-high 14 tackles at Michigan
• 11 tackles (eight solo), 1.0 sack in his Illini debut against Murray State
• Transferred to Illinois with one year of eligibility left
• Immediately eligible after graduating from California with a degree in legal studies
• Nagurski Trophy watch list (defensive player of the year)
• Butkus Award watch list (best linebacker)
• Lombardi Award watch list (player of the year)
• Phil Steele preseason All-Big Ten first team
• Athlon Sports preseason All-Big Ten third team
• Lindy's preseason All-Big Ten third team
• Ranked as the 193rd best player in college football by 247Sports during the preseason
• Senior Bowl preseason watch list

At California (2012-15)

• Three-year starter at linebacker (2013-15)
• Team captain in 2015
• Played in 35 games during his career with the Golden Bears
• 246 tackles, 9.0 TFLs, one interception, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries
• Led Cal in tackles with 112, including 54 solo, in 2015
• Third in the Pac-12 with 112 tackles in 2015
• 10+ tackles in six of the last eight games of 2015
• 16-tackle effort during a 48-46 win against Arizona State in his final game for Cal
• Team MVP in 2015
• All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2015
• Phil Steele All-Pac-12 second team
• Two-time Pac-12 All-Academic
• Redshirted as a freshman in 2012

High School

• 2011 U.S. Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl
• 2011 International Bowl participant
• 2011 MaxPreps Division III All-State first team 
• 2011 ESPN High School California All-State third team
• 2011 PrepStar and Superprep All-Region 
• 2011 San Francisco Chronicle All-Metro
• 2011 Contra Costa Times All-Area
• All-Hayward Area Athletic League
• Butkus Award Watch List for the nation’s top prep linebacker
• 153 tackles, 1.0 sack, one interception, three passes defended and one fumble recovery on defense as a senior
• 78 rushes for 453 yards and six TDs as well as eight receptions for 48 yards receiving on offense as a senior
• Had a strong 2010 junior season in which he recorded 116 tackles, 14.0 tackles for loss, four passes defended and one fumble recovery on defense to earn HAAL Defensive Player of the Year honors, as well as All-State Underclassman, All-North Coast Section and All-HAAL selections
• Added nine rushes for 45 yards as well as 10 receptions for 95 yards receiving and one touchdown in his junior campaign
• 52 tackles and one interception on defense as a 2009 sophomore, while catching seven passes for 47 yards and rushing four times for 20 yards
• 68 tackles and two fumble recoveries as a freshman in 2008
• His last two prep teams both advanced to the second round of the North Coast Section playoffs, combined for a 19-5 overall record (10-2 in 2010; 9-3 in 2011) and a 14-0 HAAL mark that produced back-to-back league titles
• Two-time North Coast Section Scholar Athlete
• HAAL All-Academic
• California Scholarship Federation Life Member
• One of three National Football Foundation
• College Football Hall of Fame Outstanding Scholar Athletes from Alameda County

Personal

• Born January 5, 1994
• Full name is Hardy William Lindsay Nickerson
• Parents are Hardy Otto Nickerson and Amy Nickerson
• Father is the Illini's defensive coordinator
• Father played 16 seasons in the NFL, earning four All-Pro and five Pro Bowl selections, is a member of the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame, still ranks second on the school’s all-time list for tackles
• Coached by his father during his final two seasons at Bishop O’Dowd High School
• Sister Ashleigh graduated from Cal in 2013
• Twin sister Haleigh graduated from Cal in 2015
• Played his first football game at the age of eight at Lambeau Field as a member of a Green Bay Pop Warner team
• Attended eight different schools from kindergarten through his senior year of high school due to his father’s NFL career
• Ambidextrous as he plays sports and throws with his right hand but writes with his left
• Majored in legal studies at Cal
• Has known Illinois head coach Lovie Smith since he was a child

Career Highs (at Illinois)

Tackles: 14 at Michigan, 10/22/16
Solos: 8 vs. Murray State, 9/3/16
TFLs: 2.0 vs. North Carolina, 9/10/16
TFL Yards: 6 vs. North Carolina, 9/10/16
Sacks: 1.0, twice (last at Michigan, 10/22/16)
QB Hurries: 1 at Nebraska, 10/1/16
Fumbles Recovered: 1 at Northwestern, 11/26/16
Interception: 2 vs. Purdue, 10/8/16
Interception Return Yards: 33 vs. Purdue, 10/8/16
Long Interception Return: 33 vs. Purdue, 10/8/16

Career Highs (Overall)

Tackles: 16 vs. Arizona State, 2015
TFLs: 2.0, four times (last vs. North Carolina, 9/10/16)
TFL Yards: 9 vs. Arizona, 2013
Sacks: 1.0, four times (last at Michigan, 10/22/16)
Sack Yards: 7 vs. Arizona, 2013
Fumbles Forced: 1, twice (last vs. UCLA, 2014)
Fumbles Recovered: 1, four times (last at Northwestern, 11/26/16)
Fumble Return Yards: 27 vs. UCLA, 2014
Interception: 2 vs. Purdue, 10/8/16
Interception Return Yards: 33 vs. Purdue, 10/8/16
Long Interception Return: 33 vs. Purdue, 10/8/16
QB Hurries: 1 vs. Arizona, 2013
PBUs: 1 at UCLA, 2013