One of the top high school football players in the country has announced his commitment.
Escambia’s Ladarian Clardy, a four-star safety who’s had the eyes of several recruiting databases on him for awhile, has committed to Ole Miss. He made it official on Saturday at a ceremony in Escambia High School’s gymnasium.
Clardy, known as "Squirrel," chose Ole Miss over his other six finalists, including Florida State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, UCF, Vanderbilt and Washington.
"It’s a dream come true. All my life, this has what I’ve been grinding for. It means so much to commit to an SEC program. It’s a dream come true," Clardy told the PNJ. "I just love Ole Miss – everything about them. It just felt like it was another home. Lane Kiffin, he’s my guy. The fans, the atmosphere, everything, it’s good. … They’ve got the No. 1 defense in college right now. So why not? I’m a DB, so why not go?”
Saturday’s ceremony was a little special, as well. Originally, Clardy was supposed to announce his commitment in the beginning of August, but after a few late offers came in, he postponed until Saturday. He chose that day because it is the day after his brother, Ladarius Clardy’s, birthday.
Ladarius, a former standout in his own right from Pine Forest, was killed after his freshman year at Kennesaw State in July 2021 in a drive-by shooting where Ladarius was mistaken for somebody else.
"His birthday was yesterday, and me committing today was a tribute to him. ... But my big brother, he played a big role in my life," Clady said. "Seeing him pick up a ball, succeeding in the classroom, it inspired me to be just like him. I always wanted to be just like him, but he wanted me to be better than him. I’m going to continue to strive to be better than him.”
Clardy, standing at a 6 feet and 175 pounds, is ranked No. 19 in the USA Today Top 100 for the Class of 2025 in Florida. He’s currently the No. 17 safety and ranked 209th overall on the 247Sports composite.
He was also the 2023 PNJ Defensive Player of the Year, posting 57 tackles (two for a loss) with four interceptions and eight passes defended in 12 games with the Gators last season. Clardy has been with head coach Mike Bennett and Escambia for all four years of his high school career.
Clardy’s played a fairly consistent role on defense, adding 55 tackles his sophomore year and eight tackles his freshman year in just nine games. So far this season, Clardy already has 18 tackles and an interception through three games (stats from Friday’s game at Mosley have not been reported yet).
Clardy has also seen a boost on offense, playing both ways as a wide receiver. He recorded a career-high eight receptions for 163 yards and four touchdowns as a junior. Through three games, Clardy has six receptions for 125 yards and a touchdown as a senior.
Escambia currently sits at 2-2, after losing to Mosley on the road on Friday. In the latest MaxPreps rankings, the Gators were among the best in Class 4A, sitting fifth in Region 1-4A so far.
"I’m going to get back to the lab and keep putting back work until it’s time to go off to college," Clardy said.
"Squirrel means the world to us. We love Squirrel. He’s been a great player for us. Not only that, but he’s been a great leader as well," Bennett said. "We just have to keep moving forward with him. I can’t say anything bad about Squirrel. He’s turned everything around, and he’s showed our younger guys what it takes to become a Division I football player.”
Clardy noted his relationship with Kiffin, who's been at Ole Miss since 2020, is what stood out to him. A video on social media went viral where Kiffin was driving Clardy around and he called Kiffin the "best Uber." Kiffin told Clardy in the video that he could take him "wherever you want to go, as long as you come to the 'Sip."
"Every time I hang around him, we just have good conversations. What set it for me was, my last visit up there, I was sitting down by the tunnel, and then he had told me to get up and walk with him. I was the only recruit to walk through the tunnel with him," Clardy said. "That’s what really stood out to me. There were probably 30, 40 recruits there. For me to be the only one to walk out with him, I just know I was a top priority for him.”
"It’s a dream come true. As a father, I always wanted my son to play in the SEC. … I didn’t put any pressure on him," said LaDaron Clardy, Ladarian's dad, who was already sporting a white Ole Miss hat on Saturday. "I just wanted him to make the best decision for him, where he felt like he wanted to be coached because he’s got to do it for the next few years. … Me and his mom are behind him 110%. We’re going to support him, no matter what we have to do.”
