Vernon Hargreaves III on losing at Florida: They’ll talk about you right to your face
By Jack Crosby
As a freshman last season in Gainesville, defensive back Vernon Hargreaves III was one of the more productive players on a Florida Gators team that turned in one of the worst seasons in the history of the program, finishing 4-8 overall, which included a loss to FCS Georgia Southern.
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Yes, the Florida Gators were in the news last season for virtually all the wrong reasons, and praise was obviously few and far between. With that comes the verbal bashing, and according to Hargreaves, the folks on campus are not shy to let you know about how displeased they are.
“People are going to bash Coach [Will] Muschamp, they’re going to bash us, even around campus,” Hargreaves said in an interview with ESPN. “… If you don’t win at Florida they’re going to talk about you, and they’re going to talk about you right to your face.”
Of course, being one of the more prominent programs in not just the SEC, but the entire country, the scrutiny is that much harsher when you have a season like the Gators, Muschamp, Hargreaves and the rest of the team had last season. Even with the plethora of injuries the team suffered that definitely contributed to the woes in some fashion, losing is just flat-out unacceptable in Gainesville.
Hargreaves also recounted a time in a freshman class last season where the students were asked to list their goals, and one female student actually announced, with Hargreaves and a few others in the room, that she would like to actually go to a game and see Florida win. However, Hargreaves wasn’t offended, rather he saw where she was coming from.
“We really couldn’t say anything because we didn’t win so she was basically telling the truth,” Hargreaves said.
There’s no doubt that there’s a tremendous sense of urgency to get things turned around this season, and quickly. If you needed a reminder of that, one of the brightest stars in the game of college football provided that.