Florida may have jumped in late on 4-star defensive lineman Zavion Hardy’s recruitment when it offered him last month, but the Macon, Georgia, native still holds the Gators in high regard. He included the Orange and Blue among his top eight schools that he released on Feb. 22. Now he plans to visit the Swamp the first weekend after the dead period is lifted.
The Gators have played a significant factor in his recruitment so far because of the relationships he built with off-the-field analysts Jamar Chaney and Kareem Reid as well as defensive line coach Sean Spencer and head coach Billy Napier. He looks forward to visiting Florida, so he can put names to faces.
So far, he told Swamp247 that the Gators and South Carolina are the schools recruiting him the hardest. Hardy said he liked how Florida started to build a relationship with him before they extended an offer to him.
“I just never really have talked to schools the same way to Florida,” he said. “Usually when I get an offer from a school, I don’t really have time to talk before, it’s more of them offering me straight up, and then the bonds eventually came.”
Other schools to make his top eight besides Florida include Jackson State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Florida State, Miami, Georgia and UCF. He also plans to visit the Rebels later this month.
Even though he’s narrowing his options down, he doesn’t plan to make a commitment anytime soon.
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