Position: Cornerback
Hometown/School: Tampa, FL - Wharton
Height/Weight: 5'11/185
Other Offers: Miami, USF, Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Vanderbilt, USC, Michigan, and many, many more.
Report: Vernon Hargreaves III has been on Florida's radar for quite some time. After naming Florida his favorite a week before, VHIII committed to Florida after a visit to Gainesville in July.
The battle for VHIII's services seemed like it was between Florida and the hometown USF. Florida is the better program, but VHIII's dad is a coach for the USF Bulls. However, after visiting USC earlier in July, he named them the leader. But USC was left out his top 5 list and he committed to Florida a week later.
Hargreaves is without a doubt one of the best players in the 2013 class. All of the four recruiting services all agree that VHIII is a 5-star prospect. Rivals ranks him 2nd for cornerbacks in the class of 2013 while the others (Scout, ESPN, and 247Sports) all list him as the best. He is a consensus top 10 overall player in the nation.
Hargreaves racked up 49 tackles last year for Wharton including a sack. High school quarterbacks tend to not throw VHIII's way. With that being said, Hargreaves still ended the season with a pair of interceptions. He also plays a little bit of offense. He caught 13 passes at receiver last year, averaging 24 YPC and scoring 3 TDs on offense.
Scouting reports? Scouting reports.
Chad Simmons, one of the main scouts for Scout, had this to say about Hargreaves.
He can cover on or off the line, he really explodes out of his breaks, and he can flip his hips with the best of them. There are not a lot of concerns about his game. He can improve his open field tackling, but other than that, he looks much like a college corner. He is very advanced in technique and he will contribute very early in his college career.
SB Nation's recruiting analyst, Bud Elliott, has put together a great scouting report. Here is just an excerpt from it.
It's difficult to put together a scouting report for Hargreaves because he does pretty much everything at an elite level. His father is the defensive backs coach for the USF Bulls, and it is clear that he has absorbed much of the advanced coaching he's received since he was a little kid. Hargreaves could start for many BCS programs as a 17-year-old.Hargreaves seems to always be in the right position, thanks to his instincts and years being around the game. He does break on the ball quite well, but if you watch closely, you'll see that he doesn't have as far to go to get to the spot as many corners because he's positioned himself better before the time comes to close on the football. There aren't many false steps in his game.Hargreaves shows the ability to be quite physical and is a very good tackler. He can excel in man or zone coverage, with his smooth hips and quick feet.
One from ESPN($):
It is very difficult to find projected college corners who actually play the position fulltime in high school and possess a vast understanding of both zone and man concepts with the talent to execute them at a premier level. Hargreaves III is that kind of prospect. He has very good speed, great closing burst and range at the position in a well-built frame that is deceptively stronger than it appears, especially when it comes to functional strength; jamming, pressing and supporting the run. Extremely quick to recover, fluid in his change-of-direction and athletic in his ability to play the ball in the air, it will be difficult for Muschamp to keep this young shut-down corner off the field as a true freshman. It’s a position that can hold back even the most talented high school corner prospects from making an impact early at the BCS level due to the learning curve and technique required to succeed at the position, but Hargreaves is ready.
Continuing the praise is Chris Nee of Rivals($).
Hargreaves is arguably the best defensive back in the nation. He is ready to contribute from the moment he steps on a college campus due to both his physical and mental approach to the game of football. Hargreaves possesses good size in both height and build. He has continued to add good weight and strength over past year while continuing to retain his athleticism. He has good speed, handles change of direction very well, and is very good at springing off the ground at full speed. He does an excellent job of getting his hands on balls whether he wins them in the air or shows his range and quickly darts in front of the intended receiver. He has a special aptitude when it comes to playing his position that sets him apart from his peers.I'm sure that there are more scouting reports out there, but I think the four above do an excellent job of evaluation Hargreaves.
Expect the 5-star cornerback to make an immediate impact for the Gators. Like ESPN said, it will be hard for Muschamp to not play Hargreaves in his freshman year.
If you don't live in Florida, you will get your chance to see Hargreaves play live in early January. He will be participating in the Under Armour All-American Game where ESPNU also televises their practices.
This is a huge pickup for Will Muschamp and the Gators. After it is made official on National Signing Day, Hargreaves will be the prize recruit of the 2013 class.
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