As the NFL draft nears, USA TODAY High School Sports will look back at the high school careers and draft prospects for former American Family Insurance ALL-USA selections. Today’s installment features Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III.
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Florida defensive back Vernon Hargreaves performs a drill at the NFL Scouting Combine (Photo: Gregory Payan, Associated Press)
PLAYER PROFILE:
Position: Cornerback
High school: Wharton (Tampa, Fla.)
ALL-USA history: Named to the American Family Insurance first team in 2012. After his high school career, he was named the MVP of the Under Armour All-America game after a team-high 5 tackles, one interception and a pass breakup. He had 110 tackles, five interceptions, five forced fumbles and five pass breakups as a senior. He also scored five touchdowns and five two-point conversions.
College: Florida
Height, weight: 5-11, 204
Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III won the MVP of Team Highlight at the Under Armour All-America Game (Photo: Kim Klement, USA TODAY Sports)
By the numbers: Tied for the Florida team lead in 2015 with four interceptions (152 return yards) and had 33 tackles as a first-team All-American and All-SEC selection. He also was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.
Draft positives: Sudden movement and elite body control to move with receivers all over the field, staying in their hip pocket and ready to pounce on the ball. Elite ball skills. Locates the passes with minimal loss of speed. Times his leaps and lunges exceptionally well. Outplays his frame. Can excel in any coverage scheme. Instincts and reaction times are top notch.
Draft negatives: Lack of size might limit him to specific roles. Can be pushed around by more physical receivers. Shows some stiffness when turning vertically.
Projection: Round 1
What he says: “Playing in the SEC, I’ve covered Amari Cooper, I’ve covered Odell Beckham, I’ve covered Jarvis Landry, Kelvin Benjamin. I’ve seen them all before. That’s not to say that I’m ready necessarily, but it definitely helps to have covered them before, to have tracked them before. In the NFL you can’t put your hands on them so I’ll definitely have to work on my technique but that’s how I approached my junior season. You can’t touch them 10 yards down the field like you could in college so I worked on keeping my hands off guys.”
STATISTICS AT FLORIDA
| Year | Tackles | Int | ForFumbles |
| 2013 | 38 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 50 | 3 | 0 |
| 2015 | 33 | 4 | 1 |
| Career | 121 | 10 | 1 |
Draft analysis by Dan Shonka, Ourlads.com