Florida defensive back Vernon Hargreaves is headed home.
The Tampa native was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 11th overall pick in the first round of Thursday night’s NFL Draft and will play at Raymond James Stadium, 30 minutes from where he played in high school.
“That would be good, that would be amazing,” Hargreaves said of getting picked by Tampa at Florida’s Pro Day on March 22. “My mom would be right down the street, so that would be good.”
A standout at Tampa’s Wharton High School, Hargreaves arrived in Gainesville billed as the third-best overall player in the 2013 recruiting class according to 247Sports. And during his three years at Florida, he lived up to that billing.
He was a two-time first-team All American as well as an Associated Press third-team All-American in his freshman year. He also led the Gators in interceptions in 2013 and 2015 and recorded 11 in his college career.
Hargreaves was the third defensive back taken on Thursday behind Florida State’s Jalen Ramsey (5th, Jacksonville Jaguars) and Ohio State’s Eli Apple (10th, New York Giants).
Keanu Neal joins Hargreaves in first round: Joining him as a first-round draft pick from Florida was fellow secondary member Keanu Neal.
Originally from Bushnell, Neal was taken by the Atlanta Falcons with the 17th overall pick.
He was viewed by many as a late bloomer in the draft process, originally projected to fall in one of the middle rounds. But his ability to deliver big hits caught the eye of NFL teams.
Statistically, Neal improved significantly in his final season at UF.
His 96 tackles were the most among UF’s defensive backs after he posted the fourth-most among the same group the season before.
Both players declared early, joining fellow Florida juniors Kelvin Taylor, Alex McCalister and Demarcus Robinson.
All three of the remaining players are expected to be taken in later rounds of the Draft.
Contact Ethan Bauer at ebauer@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @ebaueri
All-America cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III catches a pass during a drill as part of Florida's Pro Day on Tuesday inside UF's indoor practice facility.
