After playing host to an elite Peach State edge rusher last month, Clemson is positioned to attract him back to campus for a game in the fall.
Macon (Ga.) Tattnall Square Academy four-star defensive end Zavion Hardy, one of the nation’s top prospects in the 2023 class, visited Tiger Town on June 1 and plans to return to see the Tigers play in Death Valley during the upcoming season.
“I should come to one of the games,” Hardy told The Clemson Insider.
Although he has never experienced a football game at Clemson, Hardy loves the game-day atmosphere and the Tigers’ famed tradition from what he has seen on TV.
“It’s amazing man,” Hardy said, “especially when the buses pull in and Clemson runs down the hill.”
Hardy also made trips to Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida State and South Carolina in June.
When he looks back on his visit to Clemson, a couple of things stand out to him.
“The coaches and the facilities,” he said.
Hardy’s primary point of contact at Clemson is defensive tackles coach Todd Bates, and the two have been building a relationship.
“He’s real cool,” Hardy said of Bates. “I have to keep in touch with him and call him every now and then.”
A 6-foot-6, 240-pound rising junior, Hardy holds offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, Florida State, Southern Cal and Arizona State.
While he doesn’t own an offer from Clemson just yet, he knows the Tigers take the recruiting process slower than most other programs and understands he has to be patient.
If Clemson comes into the mix for Hardy with an offer in the future, expect the Tigers to make the cut when he trims down his group of suitors.
“They would be in my top schools when I knock my list down,” he said.
Hardy is ranked as high as the No. 6 defensive end and No. 44 overall prospect in the 2023 class by ESPN, while he checks in as the No. 11 defensive lineman and No. 55 overall prospect in the class, per the 247Sports rankings.
Hardy is committed to play in the 2023 Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando, Fla.
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