NFL executives and coaches were well aware of Aaron Hernandez's checkered past before he was drafted by the New England Patriots nearly four years ago, according to NFL.com.
By draft time Hernandez, now jailed and charged with first-degree murder, had failed numerous drug tests and was thought to have gang affiliations, which heavily contributed to him falling all the way to the fourth round on draft day, the website adds.
"They couldn't pin a lot of stuff on him at Florida," one AFC college scouting director told NFL.com. "But people at the school would tell you, 'Every time there's an issue, he's around it.' If there was trouble, Hernandez's name would come up. ... He was a con guy. Very believable. Spoke well. A lot of things inside of you hoped you'd turn him around, but people that I talked to said they didn't trust him, that he'd burn you."
The website adds that while at Florida, Hernandez also quickly developed a reputation for being able to beat the system. One staffer told the website "he was really intelligent, and that's why he was such a pain in the a**. He knew how to beat the system on everything."
Jailed without bail and relegated to solitary confinement since last June, Hernandez now finds himself in the fight of his life, one where his very freedom is at stake. In addition to being accused of being the triggerman in the execution-style slaying of Odin Lloyd, Hernandez also faces five gun charges and is also considered a central suspect in a July 2012 unsolved double-slaying in downtown Boston.
"He was considered a cool guy to be around," an NFC personnel director told the website. "But around the program, he was the one guy everyone knew not to mess with. They knew he'd fight. He had a temper. I don't think anyone would've predicted what's going on now. You didn't say, 'He's a murderer.' My feeling is, most people had him off their boards because of the (drug) tests."
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