Ole Miss football lands Jacksonville State DE Chris Hardie out of transfer portal | Reports

OXFORD — Ole Miss football's crop of eye-popping athletes on the defensive line just added another member out of the transfer portal.

Jacksonville State defensive end Chris Hardie committed to play for the Rebels on Sunday, according to multiple reports Sunday.

Hardie racked up 8.5 sacks in 13 games last season in the Gamecocks' first campaign at the FBS level. The rest of his 21.5 career sacks came while Jacksonville State was a member of the FCS ranks.

Listed at 6-foot-2, 270 pounds, Hardie will have one season of eligibility remaining with the Rebels.

His sack total in 2023 led Conference USA. Hardie also produced 16 tackles for loss to top the conference. That production was good enough to earn him first-team all-conference honors.

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The Gamecocks played one SEC foe last season, and they gave South Carolina a scare on the road. Hardie came up big in that contest with a pair of sacks. He'll now get a chance to prove himself at the SEC level in an extended sample within what looks like a top-level pass-rushing unit for the Rebels.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Transfer DE Chris Hardie commits to Ole Miss football, Lane Kiffin