Will Hardy, a 3-star athlete who has been committed to Virginia since last spring, has decided to flip his commitment to North Carolina, he announced Monday evening.

Hardy, who is 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and is rated the No. 98 overall prospect in the class of 2022 in talent-rich Georgia, attends Greater Christin Academy in Atlanta, GA. He was first offered by UNC in July, and even though he was committed to UVA, communication continued with Carolina. He visited for the Tar Heels’ 45-42 win over Miami, which was crucial in his decision.

He was also in Chapel Hill this past weekend for an official visit, which sealed the deal for him.

“Very excited to announce my commitment to North Carolina,” Hardy told THI on Monday evening. “Love the coaches, the academics, and the commitment to football that they display.”

Hardy appeared close to flipping for UNC a couple of months ago, but remained loyal to his pledge to the Cavaliers. But when Bronco Mendenhall announced he was resigning after the bowl game, Hardy reconsidered.

He took an official visit to UNC this weekend, which sealed the deal. But it was also Hardy’s unofficial visit in October that was key in his decision.

“I enjoyed it,” he said. “It was really good to meet with Coach Bateman and Coach Brown and also to see them play. The atmosphere was great and it was good to see them pull out the win.”

Prior to UNC’s win over the Hurricanes, defensive coordinator Jay Bateman has been the lead recruiter on Hardy and really turned up the heat in October when Hardy visited for UNC’s win over Miami. Bateman spent about 12 minutes with Hardy on the field before the other visiting prospects came out onto the field. Linebackers coach and co-DC Tommy Thigpen also spent time with him. The push by UNC was hard, and it eventually worked.

“It was good to connect with them, even though we had built a relationship over text and calls, it’s for sure different in person,” Hardy said. “They want me at safety, but also like my skills on offense. They could see me playing nickel too.”

Hardy is the 17th member of UNC’s class of 2022, which is ranked No. 8 in the nation.