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Former Auburn DL Jay Hardy transferring back to AU after 4 seasons at Liberty
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Jay Hardy has committed to Auburn for the second time in his career.
Hardy began his career at Auburn in 2020 before spending the past 4 seasons at Liberty. He is returning to The Plains for his final college football season.
Liberty DL Jay Hardy, who originally signed with Auburn in the 2020 class, is transferring back to Auburn
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) April 20, 2025
Over the last 3 seasons at Liberty, Hardy has accounted for 54 tackles, 7 TFLs, 2 sacks, & 3 batted passes pic.twitter.com/KdImnbkvRs
At Auburn, Hardy redshirted in 2020, making his AU debut against Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl. While it’s a return to Auburn, the homecoming is arguably more about the staff.
After the 2020 season, Hardy transferred to Liberty. He played for Hugh Freeze‘s program in 2021 and ’22. Freeze brought many of his Liberty staffers with him to Auburn, so Hardy is excited to see some familiar faces in his second stint as a Tiger.
Jay Hardy is not only returning home to Auburn, he's returning to a staff he's familiar with
— Christian Clemente (@CClemente247) April 20, 2025
A staff he loves
"And my relationships with these coaches — this staff might be my favorite staff I've ever had in college." https://t.co/a3mulHPvTe pic.twitter.com/eKtBDtXWMG
Hardy, listed at 6-3, 310 pounds, played in 34 games over the past 3 seasons at Liberty after redshirting in 2021. His most productive season came in 2023 when he logged 31 total tackles with 5 TFLs and 2 sacks over 14 games.
This time, Hardy comes to Auburn without any drama. There was confusion around his initial commitment after Hardy was not announced as an Auburn signee during the Early Signing Period in December 2019. In January 2020, Hardy was confirmed to be an AU signee amid speculation of a possible flip to Tennessee.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
