South Carolina gets the flip in a pinch and signs a familiar face to fold in 2025

On Wednesday, a name familiar to South Carolina football fans returned to the Gamecocks. 4-star defensive lineman at junior college Zavion Hardy (who committed to USC as part of the 2023 class before transferring to JuCo) has switched his commitment from the Mississippi State Bulldogs to Carolina. He announced the move 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 applies to both the On3 player rankings and the On3 industry overview. On3 also considered him a 4-star recruit out of high school.

Although Hardy had been stationed at Mississippi State for over two months, GamecockCentral viewed his recruitment as something to continue monitoring. He returned to South Carolina football on Wednesday.

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As a player, Hardy is an athletic defensive tackle who played some end in high school. With a height of 1.95 meters and a weight of 260 pounds, other media reports that she weighs up to 280 pounds. He has solid pass-rush skills and uses his long arms and strong lower half to win in the run game as well. Hardy shares some similarities with redshirt junior Gamecock defensive lineman TJ Sanders.

Hardy told MaroonandWhite.com’s Paul Jones that things looked a little different for him after junior college than when he was a high school recruit. “Now that I’m older, I’ve really had a different mindset when it comes to recruiting,” explained Hardy, a Georgia native. “It was more about where I can best develop further now. Once I leave JuCo, I still have two years to play at the next level. So it’s about where I can go and develop and manage my business.”

In the end, those words proved true in his recruitment to South Carolina.

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Hardy is the second defensive tackle in the Gamecocks’ signing class. He is joining a long-standing promise Caleb Williams hoping to add more help later on Signing Day.

Center backs remain a key need for Clayton White’s defense. Tonka Hemingway, DeAndre Jules and Boogie Huntley are ineligible and hope to get into the NFL. TJ Sanders could return but should be a high pick in the NFL Draft. Jamaal Whyce is leaving the club via the transfer portal. Because of this wear and tear, Hardy could soon see playing time in garnet and black. He should make an immediate impact in Colombia.