South Carolina pulls off flip at position of need, signs familiar face to 2025 fold
On Wednesday, a familiar name to South Carolina football fans flipped back to the Gamecocks. 4-star junior college defensive lineman Zavion Hardy (who committed to USC as part of the class of 2023 before heading to JuCo) has moved his commitment from the Mississippi State Bulldogs to Carolina. He announced the flip during a National Signing Day ceremony at his school.
Originally from Georgia, Hardy is a versatile defensive lineman who played his junior college ball at East Mississippi Community College. The consensus 4-star big man is rated as the No. 1 overall JuCo prospect in the class of 2025. This is true in both the On3 player rankings and the On3 industry composite. On3 also considered him a 4-star recruit out of high school.
Though Hardy had been committed to Mississippi State for over two months, GamecockCentral has viewed his recruitment as one to continue monitoring. On Wednesday, he made his way back to the South Carolina football fold.
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As a player, Hardy is an athletic defensive tackle who played some end in high school. South Carolina’s official Signing Day graphic lists him at 6’5″ and 285 pounds. He has some solid pass rush ability and uses his long arms and strong lower half to win in the run game, too. Hardy shares some similarities to redshirt junior Gamecock defensive lineman TJ Sanders.
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Hardy told MaroonandWhite.com’s Paul Jones that things looked a little different for him coming out of junior college than they did when he was a high school recruit. “Really now that I am older, I had a different mindset in recruiting,” explained Hardy, a Georgia native. “It was more about where can I develop the best now. Once I am out of JuCo I will have two years left to play at the next level. So it is about where I can go and develop and handle my business.”
In the end, those words proved to be true about his recruitment to South Carolina, as well.
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Hardy is the second defensive tackle in the Gamecocks’ signing class. He joins long-time pledge Caleb Williams with the hope of adding more help later on Signing Day.
Interior defensive linemen remain a major need for Clayton White’s defense. Tonka Hemingway, DeAndre Jules, and Boogie Huntley are out of eligibility and hope to head to the NFL. TJ Sanders could return but should be a high NFL Draft selection. Jamaal Whyce is leaving via the transfer portal. Because of all that attrition, playing time could be available early for Hardy in garnet and black. He should make an immediate impact in Columbia.
