Oklahoma DB Jaydan Hardy's 'Natural Instincts' Have Led to Larger Role

NORMAN — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables traditionally uses many safeties in his defensive rotations, and sophomore Jaydan Hardy has emerged as a result.

Hardy, from Lewisville, TX, has played on 110 defensive snaps in his second year at OU. The safety didn’t appear against Michigan and played only four snaps against Auburn, but since then, the Sooners have regularly plugged Hardy into the rotation at safety.

“Another good young player that’s got great natural instincts,” Venables said of Hardy on the SEC’s weekly teleconference on Wednesday.

As a true freshman in 2024, Hardy appeared in all 13 games but primarily played on special teams. He finished the year with six tackles on 58 defensive snaps, though he did log an interception in OU’s season opener against Temple.

This year, Hardy has been more valuable.

As a defensive reserve, Hardy has nearly doubled his freshman-year snap count. He registered Oklahoma’s first interception of the 2025 season against Kent State in the Sooners’ fifth game, and he has logged four solo tackles in seven games. In five of his seven appearances so far this season, Hardy has finished with Pro Football Focus (PFF) defensive grades higher than 60.

According to Peyton Bowen, a junior safety, Hardy’s increased maturity has allowed him to become more impactful for the Sooners’ defense.

READ MORE OKLAHOMA SOONERS

“He’s gotten his mindset a lot better,” Bowen said. “He’s always been a smart player… but he was hard on himself at times and didn’t take criticism well. He’s gotten a lot more mentally tougher now.”

At 5-10 and 180 pounds, Hardy has played both strong safety and free safety for the Sooners. More recently, Hardy has gotten reps at the strong safety position, as that’s where he lined up in OU’s last three games — a win at South Carolina and losses to Texas and Ole Miss.

As the veteran at strong safety, Bowen has been OU’s starter at the position. Bowen has compiled 25 tackles, 12 solo tackles and three pass breakups so far in his junior year.

But Hardy gives OU another option if Bowen isn’t playing well, for whatever reason.

Against Ole Miss, Bowen allowed five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. The junior had the team’s third-lowest PFF defensive grade (51), and Hardy saw an increased snap count as a result.

While Venables remains confident in Bowen despite his rough outing against the Rebels, the coach believes that Hardy provides reliable depth at the position.

“(We’re) just trying to get him more and more involved,” Venables said. “Our safeties play a lot of snaps, and we use a number of safeties schematically. He’s really improved as the season’s gone along.”

Hardy likely won’t take Bowen’s starting spot anytime soon. Bowen has been stellar in the secondary — aside from the Ole Miss game — and his 75.1 season defensive grade is the second best of all OU defensive backs, behind freshman cornerback Courtland Guillory.

But Bowen is encouraged that Hardy will continue to become more and more valuable, thanks to the sophomore safety’s work ethic.

“He’s doing a lot of extra work with the coaches to the side, getting his process better,” Bowen said.