Top-100 defensive lineman Zavion Hardy includes Gators in top group
Eight schools remain for 2023 defensive lineman, Zavion Hardy, a top-100 prospect who straps up the pads for Macon (Ga.) Tattnall Square Academy.
On Tuesday afternoon, the 6-foot-5, 260-pound junior released a top group of Florida, Florida State, Miami, Georgia, South Carolina, Ole Miss, UCF and Jackson State.
The Peach State native has already visited South Carolina and Florida State and is now scheduled to meet with the Gators on March 5. Billy Napier’s program offered on Feb. 9 and was able to secure a visit date just days later. Ole Miss is also expected to play host next month.
Napier himself, along with defensive analyst Jamar Chaney, delivered the pleasant news on behalf of Florida, while defensive line coach Sean Spencer is heavily involved as well.
“I’ve been talking to the coach for about a month now,” Hardy previously told Gators Online. “Today, coach Chaney texted me and told me I was going to get on the phone with coach Billy. I talked to most of the defensive coaches and we were just talking.
“After I chopped it up with them, I called coach Billy and coach Chaney. We were talking and then coach Billy offered me. They said I was a good player and that I can come down to Florida and play.”
While his relationship with the Gators is still materializing, Hardy is highly impressed by their early approach, especially from Jamar Chaney.
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“He’s like one of the coolest coaches that has recruited me so far. We are already building that bond,” Hardy said of Chaney. “All the coaches, they have unreal vibes. I can tell they are real by the way they are recruiting me.”
Hardy is climbing the recruiting rankings
According to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, Hardy is the No. 11 defensive lineman and No. 75 player overall. He also checks in as the No. 5 junior in the state of Georgia and is committed to play in the Under Armour All-America Game.
Hardy currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $5,000. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date; it rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.
According to MaxPreps, Hardy racked up 46 tackles (37 solo), 12 tackles for loss, four sacks and a forced fumble during the 2021 season.
Stay tuned to Gators Online.
![Florida s Ron Roberts will serve as executive head coach, co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Roberts was coaching drills Saturday. The Florida Gators held their second Spring football practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, March 9, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/07/30115745/Untitled-design-20-2.png)
