One of the ‘Noles’ top DB targets is set to make a decision in the not so distant future.
After originally planning to make his college decision on August 3, four-star defensive back Ladarian Clardy decided to push his commitment date back a bit to give himself some more time to choose a school.
Now, he knows when he plans to make his announcement. Clardy tells Noles247.com that he’ll decide on September 21. This new date will allow him and his family the opportunity to take some in-season visits to some of his finalists.
He’s in the process of scheduling those trips now.
“Getting my schedule set now!” Clardy told Noles247 on Monday about upcoming visits.
Ole Miss, Washington, Mississippi State and Florida State have been the primary four programs involved with him over the last few months.
Leading up to his previous expected decision date, the Rebels were trending — and still hold all predictions for Clardy on the 247Sports Crystal Ball.
He’s ranked as the nation’s No. 182 player and No. 15 safety according to 247Sports.
In 2023, Clardy racked up 57 tackles, 8 PBU and 4 INT on defense for Escambia, which went 8-4 and made the regional finals in Florida’s 3S classification. He also accounted for 154 yards of total offense and 4 TD on that side of the ball.
Here is a scouting report on Clardy via Andrew Ivins:
“Aggressive down safety prospect that can generate takeaways. On the smaller side, but isn’t afraid to throw his weight around and will hit with a message-sending purpose.
Takes favorable angles in run support and isn’t one to second guess his decision. Natural bounce and well-timed jumps make him competitive in 50-50 situations while active eyes put him in position to jump routes.
Hasn’t been asked to man-up with a ton of skill players at the prep level and in-person evaluations suggest that he’s more comfortable handling zone coverage responsibilities at this stage.
However, has displayed some lateral burst and looser hips while doubling as a wide receiver, which suggests that he might be able to handle a nickel role at some point in the near future.
Overall, should be viewed as a twitchy middle-third defender with the toughness and instincts to emerge as a multi-year starter and possible impact player at the Power Four level. Likely to add some value on special teams with his physicality. Testing metrics could be very attractive to NFL scouts one day.”
