Former Florida football standout cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III will be inducted into the UF Athletic Hall of Fame this fall as part of its 2026 class.
VHIII, as he was known in his Florida Gators playing days, was one of the top defensive playmakers in the SEC when he played for UF from 2013-15. Hargreaves started in 35 of 37 games in which he played, totaling 121 tackles, three tackles for loss, 10 interceptions, 28 pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Hargreaves earned two first-team All-American honors and three first-team All-SEC honors at cornerback during his three seasons at UF. He also was named as one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to college football’s best defensive back, during his junior year.
A Tampa native, Hargreaves was selected 11th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft by his hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He went on to play six NFL seasons with the Buccaneers, Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals.
Hargreaves will be joined by a UF Athletic Hall of Fame class that includes gymnast Bridget Sloan, softball player Kelsey Stewart and men’s basketball players Vernon Maxwell and Andrew Moten. They will be honored as Gator Greats at the Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday, Oct. 9, ahead of the South Carolina home football game.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Former Florida football CB Vernon Hargreaves III inducted into 2026 UF Athletic HOF
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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