“I like Tennessee a lot,” Hardy told 247Sports, describing Tennessee football as “kind of a family thing.” Hardy, a 6-foot-4.5, 270-pound strong-side defensive end out of McCallie School in Chattanooga, is the brother of Kevin Cooper, a fullback for the Vols in the late 2000s. “I’ve been on his path for the longest, from middle school to now,” Hardy said. “So it’s a tough decision, if I should keep following his path.”
He’s been to Tennessee five times so far in his recruitment, he said, and consistently hears from Tennessee defensive line coach
Tracy Rocker. “We talk a lot,” Hardy said. “Almost every day on the phone. He shows how me and
Tyler Baron are really important to them.” He’s seen big changes at his in-state school since
Jeremy Pruitt took over as head coach. “It’s way different from when
Butch (Jones) is there,” Hardy said. “It’s like since Coach Pruitt was at Alabama, they’re actually making Tennessee look like Alabama, basically. They’re getting that vibe.”
“I like (Georgia) a lot,” Hardy said. “My good buddy,
Zion Logue, is going there. He’s trying to really get me to go there and I’m going to visit this weekend.” Kentucky and Vanderbilt, two schools that Hardy said have made him feel like a priority prospect, aren’t going away anytime soon either. “I liked Kentucky a lot since the first time I went up there,” Hardy said. “When they played South Carolina, that was the day they offered me, I’ve really liked them since.”
“I like Vanderbilt a lot and Coach (Derek) Mason,” he added. “It’s definitely an academic school. I know there is more after football. It’s a good school to look into.” Hardy is planning a spring official visit to Stanford — “since that would be like the only chance I would have to get out there,” he said — but isn’t in a hurry to make any big decisions in his recruitment. “Probably going to narrow it down to my top ten on June 2nd,” Hardy said. “I have that date. Then I’ll commit after football season.”
