Auburn football landed a familiar face out of the transfer portal on Sunday.

Former Liberty defensive lineman Jay Hardy committed to the Tigers, he announced on social media, reuniting with Hugh Freeze and returning to the school where he started his career.

Hardy spent four seasons at Liberty, but began his career on the Plains in 2020. He was rated as a four-star recruit, but only made one appearance during his true freshman season, seeing playing time in Auburn’s Citrus Bowl loss to Northwestern.

Over the course of his career at Liberty, Hardy tallied 54 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks and three pass deflections. At Auburn, he’ll add some much-needed experience to an interior defensive line that includes four true freshmen.

He’s Auburn’s second interior defensive line transfer since the 2024 season ended, joining Dallas Walker IV, who came to Auburn from Western Kentucky.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m