Ad Disclosure
Urban Meyer warned NFL team against drafting Aaron Hernandez
Published:
Urban Meyer warned at least one NFL team against drafting tight end Aaron Hernandez while he was still the head coach at the University of Florida, according to an excerpt from an upcoming book from Ian O’Connor.
The book, Belichick: The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All Time, details a conversation Meyer had with an unnamed team about potentially drafting Hernandez.
“Look, this guy’s a hell of a football player but he f–ing lies to beat the system and teaches all our other guys to beat the system,” Meyer said, according to the book. “With the marijuana stuff, we’ve never caught the guy, but we know he’s doing it. …Don’t f–ing touch that guy.”
Hernandez was an All-SEC tight end while at Florida and blossomed into one of the NFL’s top tight ends. But in 2015, he was convicted of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He committed suicide while in prison.
An official from the unnamed team that Meyer spoke with said he “never understood” why Belichick drafted Hernandez. Meyer and Belichick have been known to have a close relationship.
According to the New York Times, 31 players were arrested during Meyer’s tenure at Florida.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB