Tag: Vernon Hargreaves III

27 Days, 27 Picks: CB Vernon Hargreaves III

The next name in our 27 Days, 27 Picks series had high expectations out of college but hasn’t lived up to them in the NFL so far.

In 27 Days, 27 Picks, Bucs Wire will analyze the last 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round draft picks, one for each day leading up to the 2023 NFL draft. We’ll take a look at the player’s college stats, their pre-draft numbers (either via the NFL Combine or their Pro Day), their NFL stats, some player footage and analysis at the end on whether the pick itself was a good one.

There were high expectations for cornerback [autotag]Vernon Hargreaves III[/autotag] coming out of college. GM Jason Licht took notice and selected him with Tampa Bay’s 2016 first-round pick, but things didn’t quite work out for either side as his career progressed.

Check out the rundown on Hargreaves for our newest player in our 27 Days, 27 Picks series below:

ESPN’s 50 greatest true freshman seasons of all-time includes this Gator

Reggie Green makes ESPN’s list of the 50 greatest true freshman seasons of all time, with other Florida Gators making their position lists.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly has released his list of the 50 greatest true freshman seasons of all time, with Reggie Green the lone Florida Gator to make the list.

Reggie Green’s 1992 freshman season comes in at No. 49 overall and No. 6 among offensive linemen on Connelly’s list. Green began his career at left tackle before injuries forced him to switch to right tackle later in his career. He was named to the All-SEC team in 1993, but those ailments slowed down his career. Connelly even includes an incredible quote from former NFL head coach Dick Vermeil, who was working for ABC as an analyst, where he says that Green was the “best freshman tackle I have ever seen in college football” on a 1992 broadcast.

As an accompaniment to the top 50 list, Connelly listed the top 10 true freshman seasons by position, including multiple Gators.

[autotag]Chris Leak[/autotag]’s 2003 season (No. 8 QB), [autotag]Vernon Hargreaves III[/autotag]’s 2013 season (No. 9 DB), and [autotag]Evan McPherson[/autotag]’s 2018 season (No. 9 K) all made the top 10 lists for their respective positions.

Thankfully, I’m old enough to vividly remember both Hargreaves’ 2023 and McPherson’s 2018 seasons. I was seven during Leak’s 2003 season (that one’s for you Editor Adam, please don’t fire me) so I can’t tell you how that season felt but it worked out well for Leak at UF; see UF’s 2006 season.

But Vernon at CB as a true freshman? Electric. His lateral movement was absurd and he was the true definition of “shut-down corner”, essentially removing the opponent’s best WR. He was drafted No. 11 overall by his hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016. Unfortunately, his NFL career did not pan out the way his collegiate one did, being flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct in the Super Bowl despite being inactive and on street clothes.

McPherson is still the best college kicker I’ve ever seen. “College Kickers” is a thing because you never know what’s going to happen when a college kicker steps up in a big moment.

Not with Evan.

He went 50/50 on extra points and 17/19 on field goals in 2018 for an 89.5% success rate — the best in the SEC that season. His 85% career success rate is No. 1 in SEC history (!) No. 13 in NCAA history (!!), according to CFB Reference.

Every time he stepped up for a big kick, I felt it was an automatic three points. Even the “NFL snobs” love McPherson, as he is currently en route to a Justin Tucker-esque career with the Cincinnati Bengals. Oh, and he can do this:

College kickers, am I right?

The Gators kick off the season on Saturday, September 3 at 7 p.m. EDT at home against the Utah Utes on ESPN.

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PHOTOS: Buffalo Bills 1st-round pick Kaiir Elam’s summer workouts

Take a look at some highlights from Kaiir Elam’s first summer with the Buffalo Bills.

When the [autotag]Buffalo Bills[/autotag] selected cornerback Kaiir Elam in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft, it marked the third-straight year that Florida football placed one of its players in the opening round of professional football’s biggest offseason event.

In fact, save for the 2019 edition that saw UF shut out, the Orange and Blue have had first-round representatives dating back to 2013, when Elam’s uncle Matt was taken with the final pick of the round along with Sharif Floyd. The previous defensive back to go in the first round was [autotag]CJ Henderson[/autotag] in 2020, and before him, it was both [autotag]Vernon Hargreaves III[/autotag] and [autotag]Keanu Neal[/autotag] who got the first-round call in 2016.

Elam comes into his rookie campaign with sky-high expectations, as many believe he will make an immediate impact on the field for the Bills. Buffalo took a bit of a risk on him as a player obviously gifted with athletic talent but simply did not put up first-round numbers in his time at Florida. He will have every chance to make his mark at the highest level of the sport this coming season.

Take a look below at a handful of highlights from the past few months as Florida’s latest claim to DBU gets ready for his highly-anticipated rookie campaign.

Gators tied for the most players on active Super Bowl rosters

Only LSU has as many players on the Rams’ and Bengals’ rosters.

Given Florida’s struggles over the last decade, you would be forgiven for not grouping it in with the top pro-producing programs. But the Gators have still had several former players find a lot of success at the next level, and many of those players just so happen to be on the two teams facing off in Super Bowl LVI in two weeks.

After a wild championship weekend, the Cincinnati Bengals will take on the Los Angeles Rams on the latter’s home field, and there will be five Gators players on the active roster for that game, tied for the most of any school with LSU.

On the Bengals, that includes kicker Evan McPherson, a rookie fifth-round pick, who has now hit game-winning kicks in the last two rounds of the playoffs. Joining McPherson on Cincinnati’s roster is former UF offensive lineman Fred Johnson, who has been on the team since 2020, and Vernon Hargreaves III a former first-round pick who has played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans.

On the other side, the Rams have a pair of former Gators at the skill positions. Van Jefferson finished second on the team in receiving yards after Cooper Kupp, while Brandon Powell, who has bounced around the league since joining it in 2018, is the starting returner and has a punt return touchdown this season.

Florida’s football program may be in the midst of a tough time, but it continues to produce NFL players consistently, and a good number of them will be playing for the highest honor in football on Feb. 13.

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Gators in the NFL: Evan McPherson earns Player of the Week honors

Kyle Pitts debuted and a kicker is the hottest Gator in the NFL right now.

16 former Gators started across the NFL in Week 1, and Cincinnati Bengals kicker Evan McPherson may have been the best of the bunch.

Rookies Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney also made their NFL debuts among others, and veterans like Joe Haden continued to add to the legacy of Gators in the NFL.

With dozens of former Florida alumni in the league, here’s who stood out the most in Week 1.

Florida’s Percy Harvin, Vernon Hargreaves III among the best recruits of all time

In a list ranking the best players to ever be ranked in the top 10 of the ESPN300, two former Gators received votes at their positions.

In a list ranking the best players to ever be ranked in the top 10 of the ESPN300, two former Gators — Percy Harvin and Vernon Hargreaves III — received votes at their respective positions.

The list selects the best player to be ranked at each position in the top 10 and lists several honorable mentions for each spot. Here’s what they had to say about the former UF players, who both fall into the latter category.

NEXT: Percy Harvin, 2006

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Should Giants take a flier on CB Vernon Hargreaves?

There’s no room in the New York Giants’ secondary for cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, who was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Tuesday.

The New York Giants’ secondary is young and challenged at the moment and could use another experienced hand until all of their rookies and younger players get up to speed.

That being said, there’s no room for cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, who was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Tuesday.

Why? The Giants are in bad enough shape without bringing in a player whose heart isn’t in his work.

From Nick Shook of NFL.com:

“After thoughtful consideration over the past few weeks, coach [Bruce] Arians and I came to the conclusion that we needed to make this change,” Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said in a statement. “Decisions such as this are always difficult, but I felt it was in the best interest of our team to part ways with Vernon at this time and allow him to explore other opportunities. We are disappointed that it did not work out here for Vernon and we wish him continued success moving forward.”

Hargreaves’ standing with the team saw its first significant in-season warning sign over the weekend, when Arians benched the cornerback due to a lack of hustle. This came months after Arians held Hargreaves out of an OTA session because he felt as if the defender wasn’t ready to participate.

Hargreaves was the 11th overall pick out of Florida in the 2016 NFL Draft and has not lived up to his draft status. The Giants have already passed on him once when they selected Eli Apple directly in from of Hargreaves in that draft, so it makes no sense why they would want him now.

The Giants already have Janoris Jenkins on their roster, a veteran whose effort has been questioned at times as well this season. At the current time, the Giants have three young corners they are developing – DeAndre Baker, Sam Beal and Corey Ballentine and are planning on getting them into the mix along with another rookie, Julian Love, so there aren’t many reps for Hargreaves even if they decided to pick him up.