Parents know best, and in this case — dad might’ve been three steps ahead.
Former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray said his father warned him to stay away from then-Florida Gators player turned-killer Aaron Hernandez during a recruiting trip in 2008.
Murray, a 4-star prospect who had received an offer from Florida, was star-struck when he saw Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow, star linebacker Brandon Spikes and then Hernandez, who was a junior at the time.
But Murray’s father, Dennis, had a bad feeling.
“I remember my dad looking at me. He still reminds me to this day of this, saying, ‘I don’t know who that kid really is, but if you commit to Florida I don’t think you should hang out with him,’” Murray said on his “SNAPS” podcast.
Murray cited Hernandez’s interaction with players and team personnel as a reason why his father said he should “stay close to Tim (Tebow). Stay far from Aaron (Hernandez).”
“It was just the way he [Hernandez] was interacting with coaches and players. Just that kind of look in his eyes. I remember my dad literally looking at me, saying ‘I’m being dead-ass serious here, Aaron. If you commit to Florida, I don’t think you should get anywhere near that kid.”
Murray turned down Florida in favor of the Georgia Bulldogs, where he played four seasons and holds the school record for all-time passing yards (13,166) and passing touchdowns(121).
“Always looking out,” Murray said in response to a fan who pointed out his father’s instincts.
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Hernandez, who had been a person of interest and later cleared of the shootings of two men in Gainesville in 2007, departed Florida in 2010 when he was drafted into the NFL.
In 2015, the troubled tight end was found guilty of first-degree murder for the 2013 killing of Odin Leonardo John Lloyd in North Attleborough, Mass.
Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, where he committed suicide inside his cell in 2017.
Months later, doctors discovered Hernandez was suffering from severe CTE, according to a press release from Boston University.
Hernandez’s fiancé, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, was recently in hot water as she was accused of mishandling a trust fund left for the couple’s daughter in January.
According to court documents, Jenkins-Hernandez spent around $12,000 at HomeGoods, $17,000 in clothing, and $10,000 in entertainment expenses, PEOPLE reported.
Police arrested Hernandez’s brother, Dennis “D.J.” Hernandez, after he threw a brick at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Conn., in March.
Dennis Hernandez attempted to get through the gate but failed, prompting him to throw the brick at the site’s grounds before getting in an Uber, according to TMZ Sports.
