The Vols still are one of the teams recruiting him hardest, he said, along with Alabama, Louisville, Georgia Tech, LSU, Florida and Virginia Tech. And Tennessee again impressed him during his visit for the Vols’ spring game. “I liked it a lot,” said Hardy, who’s ranked the No. 64 overall prospect and No. 4 strongside defensive end in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, where he’s also ranked the No. 2 junior from the state of Tennessee. “I was with
Harrison Bailey and then a lot of other recruits at the game. “Harrison’s really trying to convince me to come to Knoxville. … He’s telling me Tennessee’s going to be back on top if we all come and stay in the state, play for Tennessee.”
Hardy said Tennessee’s spring game showed him that the Vols are “really improved” in their second year under Pruitt. Pruitt himself is one of the main reasons Hardy is high on Tennessee. “I like Coach Pruitt a lot and what he’s been trying to do,” Hardy said. “I liked what I saw at the spring game. The intensity, it was different from when (former) coach (Butch) Jones was at Tennessee. “It’s really improved, the offense and everything. Offense and defense look better. The coaching is better.”
“I had a meeting with Coach Fulmer,” Hardy said. “He was talking about the difference in our class, how our class will change the way Tennessee football is played. “He came on a house visit,” Hardy added, recalling Fulmer’s in-home visit with his brother more than a decade ago. “We’ve still got the picture of when I was in the picture with him. I think I was 5. It was me, my brother and him. “He remembered it. He remembered the picture, too.”
Hardy said the Vols’ coaches have continued to tell him “how much the D-line is going to be forceful with me coming,” and they’re “trying to get other guys to come, too.” And while he doesn’t plan to decide on a college any time soon, he said Tennessee’s coaches already have made it clear to him that they envision him playing a role in convincing other players to join him in Knoxville. “They’re talking about how I should be doing the recruiting piece, trying to get people to come to Tennessee with me,” Hardy said.
He said he’s already in a running group chat with some of the Vols’ commitments, including Bailey, and “a lot of the targets” Tennessee is prioritizing in the 2020 class. “There’s this group chat with all of us — group chat with all the recruits in there,” Hardy said. “Coach Pruitt wanted us all around each other.” He said he already expects to return to Tennessee sometime this summer, perhaps for a visit that will coincide with one of the Vols’ camps, although he said he’s “probably not going to participate in the camp.” Hardy said he’s still several months away from deciding on a college. “Probably going to still be closer to signing day,” he said.
