Jacksonville State defensive lineman Chris Hardie to transfer to Ole Miss
After an official visit to Ole Miss, Jacksonville State defensive lineman Chris Hardie went to Oklahoma to see an old friend. His former coach, Zac Alley, is now the defensive coordinator for the Sooners. But, the job done by Ole Miss defensive line coach Randall Joyner and defensive coordinator Pete Golding was enough to fend off the newly-added SEC team.
On3’s Pete Nakos reported Sunday afternoon Hardie would be transferring to Ole Miss to play for an absolutely loaded defensive front in 2024. The 6-foot-2, 260 pound prospect prepped at Vincent (Ala.) before playing his college ball for the Gamecocks. In 2023, he made 60 tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks. He grabbed multiple sacks four times last year and finished with 13 tackles for loss against South Carolina and Coastal Carolina.
After redshirting, Hardie played in 47 games and was one of the top players at his position in the Football Championship Subdivision. For his career, he has 101 tackles, 30 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
Jacksonville State made the move to FBS in 2023. Chris Hardie was ready for it.
“Last year I know I had a pretty decent season, but this year I wanted to come in and focus on the details of my overall game,” Hardie said. “I know that is what’s going to get me playing better on this higher level of football.”
The three-star transfer prospect joins a room which now includes Walter Nolen, Princely Umanmielen, JJ Pegues, Zxavian Harris, Jared Ivey and Akelo Stone. Golding and Joyner have an embarrassment of riches to work with this season.
Chris Hardie was a standout athlete in high school, too.
He was an All-County selection as a junior and senior. Hardie ran for 1,054 yards, 12 touchdowns and made 53 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss and five sacks as a senior. The year before, he ran for 1,170 yards and 14 touchdowns. Furthermore, he was first team all-state, all-region and all-district honors during both years.
