OXFORD (AP) — Greg Hardy should look both ways before he crosses the street, avoid multistory construction sites and avoid black cats and bad omens.

‘‘My luck ain’t going too good right now,’’ the Mississippi defensive end said. ‘‘But it was kind of a blessing.’’

Hardy and his fragile foot have three weeks to go until the kickoff of a what everyone thinks will be a special season at Ole Miss and the defensive end figures heavily in the Rebels’ plans to shake up college football. After two surgeries, a pile of negative newspaper clippings and one car accident, Hardy is taking it slow and steady as camp opens.

By necessity, not choice. He admits to being impatient to let it loose, but he is listening to his coach and his trainer: Take it slow, one day at a time.

Coach Houston Nutt thinks that plan will put Hardy at full speed in time for the Sept. 6 season opener at Memphis.

‘‘We want to get him ready by the first game,’’ Nutt said. ‘‘I think it’s very important. The doctors have cleared him and we feel really good about that. He can’t go through an entire practice right now with the intensity that we are asking for, but you never have to worry about his effort when he is on the field. If anything, we have to slow him down a little bit.’’

That didn’t seem possible in Hardy’s first two seasons. He was all-Southeastern Conference after his sophomore year with 10 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. It was clear he was headed for all-American status and the top of the NFL draft. By then he’d already played a season with the basketball team and scored three touchdowns as a wide receiver.

He also had been suspended for two games by coach Ed Orgeron, who was upset with Hardy’s attitude.

It looked like the 6-foot-4, 265-pound Millington, Tenn., resident was really ready to turn up the heat against opposing quarterbacks going into his junior season, though. But he broke a small bone in his foot and had surgery to repair it with screws.

Hardy rushed back into the lineup and immediately played well. But he was unable to contribute consistently and appeared to re-injure the foot. He had 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss as he harassed Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators in a 31-30 Ole Miss victory that was one of the season’s most talked about upsets.

A week later against South Carolina, though, he had just one tackle and wasn’t a factor.

And so it would go the entire season. Coaches questioned his effort and attitude at one point — and many columns were written about it, too — but it was clear the foot was limiting Hardy more than his mind.

‘‘I’d say the hardest part of last year was just not playing period, not being in the games as much as I wanted to, as much as the year before,’’ Hardy said. ‘‘It’s just not a good feeling to not be out there making plays like I normally do.’’

Hardy had a second surgery in January to repair the bone again and missed spring drills. But he appeared to be on track for full participation in preseason practice when he and teammate Dexter McCluster were involved in a wreck in July.

The two were riding in Hardy’s Cadillac Escalade near Pontotoc, Miss., when they were hit by another vehicle while traveling 65 mph. The collision pushed one of the front tires through the firewall and the SUV caught fire, destroying the vehicle though never threatening Hardy or McCluster.

Hardy aggravated the foot injury and was put back in a walking cast. The wreck shook the entire team.

‘‘I was really nervous when I got the phone call from Greg Hardy and Dexter McCluster getting hit in broad daylight … and to think how lucky they are to be alive,’’ Nutt said. ‘‘To think not having those two guys for the season, that’s a nightmare because that changes your team.’’

Hardy can only hope his bad luck streak is over. The rest of the Rebels sure do.

Ole Miss is confident it will put a strong defense on the field this season without Hardy. Add in the playmaker, though, and things get interesting.

‘‘Greg is the type of player to take our defense to the next level,’’ cornerback Marshay Green said. ‘‘Any time you have Greg Hardy playing defensive end, you have to love that as a cornerback. Why? Because we’re going to get more pass rushes and the quarterback is going to throw the ball into spots that he doesn’t want to.

‘‘I can’t wait to get him back on the field.’’

Hardy can’t wait, either. He’s trying to be patient and show everyone he’s learned from the past year. Standing on the sidelines taught him it’s not all about sacks and TFLs and draft prospects.

The experience is made up of so much more.

‘‘The future’s the future, whatever happens happens,’’ Hardy said. ‘‘We’ve seen that plenty of times in my case. It goes back to having the guys behind me, having my teammates support me and just having everybody out there as one. Right now I’m just happy. Happy to be here.’’