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s a lot of conversation from media people about him and [Rob] Gronkowski. Are you guys buddies? Do you hang out off the field? And they really didn’t. Guys can be friends with whoever they want Bills Russell Bodine Jersey , but when a guy doesn’t hang out with his teammates, it’s not a red flag, but it is noteworthy. I always noted that he had a different group that he was hanging out with. I knew he was a tough dude and I knew he was very edgy and I always sort of accepted that. I knew about his drug past, Albert [Breer] detailed that pretty well. I heard all the stories, drug tests and all that. I honestly just assumed that he was still doing some of that stuff, so I wouldn’t say I was really surprised. I guess I was surprised mostly by how much I liked him. He and I got along really well. We had each other’s numbers, he would help me out with explaining stuff, like, If you need anything Nyheim Hines Super Bowl LI Jersey , give me a call. He would talk about the different things that he was doing away from the field. We got along really well. I would not say I was close to him, but we were definitely friendly. I was surprised by that.

• AARON HERNANDEZ, FROM A BROTHER’S PERSPECTIVE: Jonathan Hernandez and all the little moments, all the poor choices, all the unwise associations that led to murder.

KAHLER: Jeremy, you’re now on the Steelers beat, where former Florida teammate and friend of Hernandez, Maurkice Pouncey, plays center. Have you ever talked to Pouncey about Hernandez?

FOWLER: I think they did remain friends. I don’t know how often Maurkice visited him Wholesale Baker Mayfield Jersey , if at all. I can’t speak for the Pounceys directly, but I think they dealt with some of the grapplings that a lot of players did. They knew him on the team and then he had this double life they are trying to wrap their heads around, and that can be difficult. So I think some of these players chose to accept the realities and remember the friendship they had with him. For Maurkice, I know that can be a hard process. I can’t speak directly on it, but he did value that friendship because they knew each other a long time ago.

KAHLER: While at Florida, Hernandez formed a friendship with Tim Tebow. Urban Meyer even led him in daily bible studies. Was that enough, or you think Meyer and Florida coaches should have or could have done more to help Hernandez or discipline him?

FOWLER: It’s hard to tell. I do know that Urban Meyer and the coaches liked Tim Tebow’s influence on Aaron; they were friends and the coaching staff welcomed that. The stark contrast between football’s greatest missionary and a convicted murderer who is serving a life sentence, it is just jarring when you think of it that way. But they were friends and I think Tebow was an influence on Aaron. But could they have done more? It’s hard to tell. Probably at every level, depending on how much they knew about his background from the Patriots to the Gators. With the accumulation of issues Authentic Orlando Brown Jr. Jersey , from the whispers of drug offenses that were later reported, the bar fight, the Venue nightclub incident that he was implicated in years later, Florida probably could have done more, discipline-wise. No one expected him to transition to this.

When Aaron committed to Florida, his mother was sobbing. I think she knew that if Aaron had gone to UConn, D.J. would have taken him under his wing.

KAHLER: Is Hernandez’s story an example of what can go terribly wrong when we put star athletes on a pedestal, and teams and programs manage their issues instead of confronting them?

RAPOPORT: I definitely know the storyline, and I think there are a lot of examples of coaches and teams who say Authentic Nick Nelson Jersey , Yeah I know this guy is a problem but he is a great athlete so I’m keeping him. I don’t know that Hernandez was really like that, because he did such a good job of hiding everything that he was doing. Guns, drugs, violence, all of the things. When people describe him and what he was like in the Patriots locker room, he was a fun-loving guy, definitely emotional, would cry after losses, would cry when he did something wrong that hurt a teammate on the field. He was very emotional but also really funny and would take someone’s car keys and go get McDonalds. There was definitely the drug stuff Cheap M.J. Stewart Jersey , and he’s not alone as someone who failed drug tests in college. I don’t think he was enabled because I don’t think anybody really knew. It’s interesting because you think about the pre-draft process and people hire investigators to figure this stuff out, and nobody knew what he was really into or had done before he entered the NFL. That was the thing that stood out to me. He lived a double life but did a very good job of covering it.

KAHLER: How much do you think the Patriots knew?

RAPOPORT: I’ve thought about this a lot. The Patriots are an extremely careful and diligent organization. There’s no way in the world they give him a big contract extension if they knew anything that was going on. At one point he talked to the Patriots about trading him away from New England because he felt like he was in danger. I know they knew that. I know Belichick and the Patriots offered to help and hire a security firm. But that is different from being involved in it. To me, there is simply no way that they knew. There’s a PR reason to say the Patriots didn’t know, but there’s also the money reason. There is no way in the world the Patriots waste this money if they had any idea what this would turn into.

• AARON HERNANDEZ WON’T AFFECT HOW NFL TEAMS SEE PLAYERS: NFL execs explain the minimal impact the Hernandez saga will have on how they do their jobs.

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