{"id":71536,"date":"2024-10-01T17:38:53","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T22:38:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/2025-four-star-juco-defensive-lineman-zavion-hardy-commits-to-mississippi-state\/"},"modified":"2024-10-01T17:38:53","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T22:38:53","slug":"2025-four-star-juco-defensive-lineman-zavion-hardy-commits-to-mississippi-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/2025-four-star-juco-defensive-lineman-zavion-hardy-commits-to-mississippi-state\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 four-star juco defensive lineman Zavion Hardy commits to Mississippi State"},"content":{"rendered":"

Within the Class of 2025, Mississippi State is needing immediate help on the defensive line, and have particularly targeted older guys in the trenches. On Tuesday, the Bulldogs took another positive step in that direction with the commitment of On3 four-star defensive lineman Zavion Hardy<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The East Mississippi Community College product is rated as the nation\u2019s No. 2 juco defensive lineman by On3 rankings. The 6-foot-5 and 280-pound Hardy also holds offers from Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Florida, Oklahoma and Southern Cal among several others.<\/p>\n

However, in the end, Hardy said his decision was about the program that needed him the most.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach (David) Turner said they really want me,\u201d Hardy recalled. \u201cHe said they can take my game to a different notch. Then me and Coach (Jeff) Lebby have that good relationship and he\u2019s been talking to me a lot even before my visit. We built a really good bond and they showed that they want me there and they need me there. So we\u2019re good with each other and Coach Turner is good to me, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

This summer Hardy took in official visits to Mississippi State, Arkansas and South Carolina. Since that time, he noted that the Bulldogs have pursued him the hardest and his relationship with Turner dates back even further to Hardy\u2019s prep days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been on me hard since my visit there and they\u2019ve been on me the hardest,\u201d added Hardy. \u201cMy relationships with Coach Lebby and Coach Turner are getting stronger and it\u2019s still great love there with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Coach Turner, our relationship goes back to when I was in high school,\u201d Hardy added. \u201cHe was coaching at Florida then so we\u2019ve known each other for awhile. He\u2019s been telling me the same things that Coach Hutzler said and Coach Turner is the real deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hardy has taken in game-day visits to Mississippi State this year and is also familiar with the Bulldogs\u2019 program due to his former teammates. In the last recruiting class, Mississippi State signed several East Mississippi players and in the Class of 2025, Hardy\u2019s teammate and former Alabama transfer Tony Mitchell is committed to the Bulldogs, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been talking to some of my guys that are at State now,\u201d remarked Hardy. \u201cThey said it\u2019s straight but that it is hard training. I talk with Ashun (Shepphard) the most and we talked a couple of weeks ago. He told me that it\u2019s not too bad but it is an adjustment. But they\u2019re all getting used to it now and they like it there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past few months, Hardy has talked often with Lebby and Turner about his future at Mississippi State. Naturally, State\u2019s staff gave him a list of their expectations for what he can accomplish in Starkville and now Hardy is eager to reach those expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Lebby just wanted me to make the right decision,\u201d added Hardy. \u201cCoach Turner has said the same thing and he said I can do big things at State and I know I can. Coach Turner feels like he can develop me the best and he wants me there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, Hardy also had a \u201cdifferent mindset\u201d in his second experience on the recruiting trail. That process this year wasn\u2019t similar to his high school recruitment and it was more about finding the best fit for his development.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally now that I am older, I had a different mindset in recruiting,\u201d explained Hardy, a Georgia native. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The post 2025 four-star juco defensive lineman Zavion Hardy commits to Mississippi State<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Within the Class of 2025, Mississippi State is needing immediate help on the defensive line,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71536"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71536\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}