Auburn Lands Transfer Who Previously Left Program

The 14th-ranked defensive tackle in the 2020 class per 247Sports, Auburn stole Hardy away from the Tennessee Volunteers on signing day five offseasons ago. However, his time at Auburn was short-lived, with the interior lineman darting for the transfer portal and eventually the Liberty Flames in 2021. 

Following a redshirt season to start his Flames career, Hardy tallied 16 tackles in 2022. He had a career-high 31 tackles, five TFLs, and two sacks in 2023 before earning Lombardi Award Preseason Watch List honors last offseason. Unfortunately for Hardy, he played in a career-low seven games, posting seven tackles with no sacks. 

Hardy joins an Auburn team that allowed just 3.1 yards per rush attempt last season, tied for the third-best mark in the SEC. He will compete with Malik Blocton and Zykeivous Walker for playing time at defensive tackle.

Blocton is the frontrunner, collecting 16 tackles, four TFLs, and 1.5 sacks. Walker also had three TFLs on the season. Meanwhile, Auburn football signed five-star defensive line recruit Malik Autry and four-star prospect Darrion Smith, also a defensive lineman.