Florida football: 5 great players who didn’t live up to the NFL hype

Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III was the best Florida player during a weird time for the football program. He came to Gainesville as a superstar recruit in the defensive backfield to play for Will Muschamp. After two down years under him, the Gators moved on and brought in Jim McElwain for a little bit. Despite a good start, the McElwain era ended horribly as Muschamp’s tenure did.

All the while, Hargreaves was racking up one All-SEC First Team nod after another. He was named All-SEC each year he was in school, taking home First-Team All-American honors during his junior season in 2015. Florida won the SEC East that year but was no match for the Alabama Crimson Tide in Atlanta. Hargreaves went to the NFL as Florida’s next can’t-miss draft prospect.

Hargreaves landed No. 11 overall with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016, where he put together 3.5 seasons of unspectacular. In 2019, Hargreaves was cut by the Buccaneers, now under the new regime of Bruce Arians and Todd Bowles. He signed with the Houston Texans but made a minimal impact there in his first half-season with the team. Hargreaves had his fifth-year option declined.

In recent years, Hargreaves’ lack of productivity in the NFL has been one of the most head-scratching draft busts in Florida football history. He had great ball skills at Florida and was a technician in coverage. Too bad he became essentially burnt toast in the Tampa Bay secondary before being released. Ultimately, he was a great college player in the SEC we overrated.