It will be a different shade of the color, but JR Hardrick will continue to wear orange at the next level.
South Pittsburg High School’s two-time all-state defensive end told Clemson football coaches during his official visit to the campus last weekend that he was committing to the Tigers, but Hardrick waited until Thursday afternoon to make a public announcement of his decision.
“I had been to the campus before on an unofficial trip, but I knew shortly after we got there last Saturday that I was at the place I would call home,” said Hardrick, who visited the school in South Carolina with both of his parents and two younger siblings. “I love everything about their program and the campus. The staff and the team has a real good family atmosphere about it, and I really like the fact that Coach (Dabo) Swinney shares my (Christian) faith.
“The people you surround yourself with, that’s who will influence how you turn out, and I want to come out of a program being a better man than I am when I go in. I believe I will get that at Clemson. When I told the coaches before I left that I wanted to commit to them, they were all real excited and said they can’t wait to coach and mentor me.”
The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder who is entering his senior season of prep football also said he is shutting down his college recruitment. He had official visits scheduled for both Georgia Tech and Louisville in the coming weeks, but Hardrick said he will not be making those trips or visits to any other campuses.