Coveted in-state prospect Jay Hardy ready for another look at Tennessee this weekend, 'looking for confidence from players'

Jay Hardy will make another trip to see Tennessee take the field on Saturday night. This will be at least the third trip to Knoxville in the last four months for Hardy.

Hardy was in attendance when the Vols fell to Georgia State week 1. Now he returns to see the Vols play the most dominant team in the Peach State this week. The matchup pits two of the five schools in Hardy’s top list of schools.

The outcome of the game is always important, but for Hardy this week, there is something in particular that he is looking for.

Hardy told Vol Recruiting Report’s Dale Dowden on Friday night, “I want to see how confident the players still are on the field and about the season.”

Hardy is part of a McCallie program that is doing something special right now. They are ranked number one in the entire state of Tennessee, not just their classification, so he knows a thing or two about confidence.

However, Hardy is sidelined for the next couple of weeks with a knee injury that he suffered as a result of a malicious hit. So, the question of if his recruitment would speed up any because of that naturally became a hot topic.

Hardy said on this, “No, it has not changed the timeframe.”

There is a new school trying to battle into the picture for Hardy, and they have a lot of appeal with the product that they put on the field at the defensive line position. That school is Auburn.

Hardy said of visits coming up, “I am taking an official visit to Auburn soon.”

He also noted that LSU would get an official visit.

Tennessee is in dire need of impact players upfront on the defensive line. The appeal to play right away is there for 6’5, 295lbs prospect. Hardy said on this topic, “oh, yeah. That is really playing a big role for me.”

Hardy is the 101st overall prospect nationally, No. 3 SDE, and No. 3 prospect from Tennessee in the 2020 class, according to 247 Sports.