Auburn Defensive Lineman Excited to be Back, Reunited with Freeze

After three seasons at Liberty, the defensive lineman is looking forward to playing for the program he started his college career at

Hardy is glad to be back | Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive lineman Jay Hardy transferred away from the Auburn Tigers to Liberty following his freshman season in 2021. However, after starting for the Flames for three seasons, Hardy is back on The Plains in 2025 and reunited with his former head coach, Hugh Freeze.

“It’s good to be back,” Hardy said. “[I’ve] been loving it with my guy [Hugh] Freeze, being back with him has been great so far…I thought about [transferring] the first year Freeze left at Liberty. I thought about coming. But I was like, ‘No, I’m going to stick it out.’ Then some things happened this past spring, and I was like, ‘Yeah, it might be time to come back home.’”

Hardy was a four-star prospect out of high school and committed to the Tigers during Bryan Harsin’s tenure as head coach. However, after his freshman year, Hardy and his family decided that Auburn wasn’t the best place for him to develop, both as a football player and a human being.

“I think it was more me and my parents thinking what was the best spot for me, being more mature,” Hardy said. "I don’t think Auburn was…there were a lot of distractions as a young man, being away from my parents for the first time. I was young, so I was making a lot of stupid decisions. I think going to Liberty was probably the best decision I could have ever made when going to college because that built me for the rest of my life. Then I was ready to come back here when I was done.”

In Hardy’s three seasons at Liberty, the defensive lineman racked up 22 solo tackles, three pass deflections, and two sacks. While those numbers might not seem overly impressive, Hardy spent most of his time playing the nose. From that spot, he was an effective space eater for Liberty’s run defense.

Thanks to his solid play in the trenches, Hardy was rated a three-star transfer in the portal by 247 Sports. Despite that, he has had to adjust back to his role at Auburn, which he seems to be doing well.

“I do [feel like I’ve improved], but there’s still a lot of work to do,” Hardy said. “I’m just finally getting my confidence back. I think that’s something I didn’t have the past couple of years. And then, being around better talent makes that come out of me as well.”

There definitely isn’t a lack of talent around Hardy this season. The Auburn defensive line is led by Preseason First-Team All-SEC edge rusher Keldric Faulk and features a dynamic group of highly talented athletes. The group has been impressive so far in camp, and the depth has allowed Hardy to branch out into new roles.

“I was playing nose the first couple weeks of camp and now they’re starting to work me in a 3-tech and tackle,” Hardy said. “So now I’ve been trying to learn a bit more tackle, because I’ve got the nose stuff down.”

Hardy was also encouraged by the depth of the group. While at Liberty, he and the other starters were expected to play a much higher percentage of snaps due to the talent drop-off behind them. However, that isn’t the case with the Tigers’ defensive line room.

“Everybody is full go every play,” Hardy said. “If you get a tap, just know there’s not going to be any drop off when the twos come in or the threes come in. Everybody can go…Yeah, everybody will get about 15, 20, at the most, somebody will get 30 [reps]. Everybody is going to be rotating, and everybody is going to get their shot. I think this might be the deepest group I’ve ever played with.”

Depth has been one of Auburn’s strengths so far in camp, especially on the defensive side of the ball. For Hardy, that depth is an opportunity to carve out his role and thrive in the middle of the Tigers’ defensive line. After four years of waiting, the former 4-star commit might finally get his chance to provide an impact on The Plains.