The 6-foot-4, 290-pound Hardy said he “probably” will wait to sign on National Signing Day in February rather than during the early signing period, which begins on Dec. 18. That could give Tennessee more time to continue to push for Hardy, who admitted he was leaning toward the Vols for months before picking Auburn on Nov. 6.
He said Tennessee and Georgia both have stayed in contact with him since he announced his decision, and he already has discussed visiting the Vols again in the coming weeks.
The 6-foot-4, 290-pound Hardy said he “probably” will wait to sign on National Signing Day in February rather than during the early signing period, which begins on Dec. 18. That could give Tennessee more time to continue to push for Hardy, who admitted he was leaning toward the Vols for months before picking Auburn on Nov. 6.
“I might go to a basketball game at Tennessee this winter, but I haven’t figured out when it will be,” Hardy told GoVols247 on Monday during a media availability at Nissan Stadium previewing his McCallie team’s appearance in Tennessee’s Division II-AAA state championship game Thursday in Cookeville, Tenn.
Hardy said he “mostly” has heard from Tennessee coach
Jeremy Pruitt and
Kevin Sherrer, the Vols’ inside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator, over the past few weeks. He expects them to visit him this week.
“They’ve still been talking to me,” said Hardy, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 97 overall prospect and No. 3 strongside defensive end in the 2020 class and the No. 2 senior from Tennessee. “We’ve still been chatting a lot. It’s been almost every day.”
At this point, he said he’s mostly focused on “building tighter relationships with the coaches” as he continues talking with Tennessee’s staff.
“That’s probably the biggest thing now,” he said.
“It was a wild experience, definitely, pulling out a win like that,” he said. “That helped, too. It’s probably going to bring in some more recruits, too.”
Hardy said “it’s going to be real hard” for anyone to steal him away from Auburn, and he has continued to strengthen his relationships with the Tigers since announcing his commitment to them. He said he will “probably go to a couple basketball games at Auburn, too,” before signing day.
“I’m still tight with Auburn,” he said.
But he’s also still considering Tennessee. He said the Vols “finished the season out real well,” and he’s still interested in them for multiple reasons.
“It’s the home state, and they’ve picked it up a lot since the beginning of the season, so that was a good thing,” Hardy said. “The main thing is relationships with the coaches.