The four-star Class of 2020 defensive lineman from McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn., said he’s scheduled to return to Tennessee on Saturday for a pool party that’s expected to bring several high-priority targets to Knoxville, and the Vols still are recruiting him perhaps harder than anyone else. The 6-foot-4.5, 275-pound Hardy will be making at least his fifth trip to Tennessee since January. He most recently visited the Vols on May 18 for their paintball event, and he said they’re one of three teams that already are in line to host him on an official visit, along with Georgia and Florida.
Hardy said he’s looking forward to “just spending time with other recruits and then some coaches” at Tennessee this weekend. He said his relationships with the the Vols’ coaches — led by inside linebackers coach
Kevin Sherrer, his area recruiter for Tennessee — have grown “a lot” over the past couple of months.
“They’re showing a lot more attention than a lot of schools right now,” said Hardy, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 94 overall prospect and No. 4 strongside defensive end in the 2020 class and the No. 3 rising senior from the state of Tennessee. “Coach Sherrer texts me and we talk on the phone about once every day.” Tennessee head coach
Jeremy Pruitt talks with him “probably, like, once a week,” Hardy said, and he also stays in touch with Vols defensive line coach
Tracy Rocker.
Hardy is hearing plenty from some of Tennessee’s current commitments, too, with the help of a group text-message conversation that features many of the Vols’ top in-state targets. “It’s me, Tre’vonn (Rybka), Keshawn (Lawrence), Tyler (Baron), Big ‘O’ (
Omari Thomas), Cooper(Mays), Reggie (Grimes) — it's all of us,” Hardy said. “Keshawn bugs me every day about (going to Tennessee). They’re like, ‘Come on, big dog. We’re waiting on you.’ And then Cooper will text me talking about when I’m making a move. Then, (Vols quarterback commitment) Harrison (Bailey) will text me the same thing.”
Tennessee’s coaches are selling Hardy on potentially being one of the in-state players who can help the Vols turn around their program. “They’re building — like, rebuilding this year — and (telling me) what I could do in the program, and then getting everybody else in-state to turn the program around to what it used to be,” said Hardy, who’s the younger brother of former Tennessee fullback Kevin Cooper.
