Former Florida Gators star Percy Harvin played in the NFL for eight seasons.
He was a gifted athlete who could catch passes and create electric kick returns. Former NFL linebacker Brandon Siler played college football at Florida. Siler said after he saw Harvin run around the football field, he instantly knew he was a special player.
Siler appeared on Dan Dakich of Outkick’s “Don’t @ Me” show and discussed how Harvin was treated once he arrived on campus. The former Kansas City Chiefs defender also touched on Harvin’s recent admission that he smoked before every game he played in.
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“Even us players we don’t treat everybody the same. I still remember I was like the head of hazing when freshmen first came into the school. … But when Percy off that bus and I see him run for the first time… I said ‘Listen guys I don’t know who that is, but I’m in charge of hazing him. Okay? Nobody else touch him… I got him,'” Siler said when asked about how certain players were treated during his time with the Florida football team.
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Siler added that he would merely give the appearance that he was giving Harvin a hard time. “Then I would go over to Percy and like ‘Percy hey, just take my pads in there so they can say that I’m hazing you too.”
Harvin went on to win two national championships during his time at Florida and was a first-team All-American in 2008. The Minnesota Vikings selected Harvin in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He had two kick return touchdowns in his first season in the NFL and was later named league’s Rookie of the Year.
However, injuries piled up during Harvin’s NFL career. He managed to play at least 14 games during his first three seasons, but from 2012 through 2016, he never played more than nine games in a single season.
Harvin is perhaps best known for running the second-half opening kickoff back for a touchdown during Super Bowl XLVIII.
Harvin has opened up about dealing with anxiety during his football playing days, previously saying he was diagnosed with anxiety disorder. Earlier this week, he told the Bleacher Report about what he did before every game.
“There’s not a game I played in that I wasn’t high,” Harvin said.
“That’s what I want the world to kind of see today. It’s not a stigma, and people doing it and getting in a whole bunch of trouble. It’s people that’s just living regular life that’s got deficiencies or just may want to enjoy.”
“You know guys have different routines… You have the guys with these certain extremes… He says that he smoked weed before every game. You have guys like Ochocinco that said all I ate was McDonalds.” Siler told Dakich.
“You do have those extreme situations, where guys can get away with doing whatever they want to. Their genetics, their athletic ability has just taken them to that point. I think a guy like Percy Harvin should have been the best player in the NFL every year that he was out there. That’s just how much I respect his athletic ability.”
Harvin retired from football after the 2016 season. In eight NFL seasons, Harvin tallied 22 receiving touchdowns, five rushing touchdowns and five kickoff return touchdowns.
In 2020 Harvin reportedly attempted an NFL comeback.
“I’m ready to return to the NFL,” Harvin told NFL journalist Josina Anderson in April 2020. “I thought I was done, but that itch came back. I’ve been training w/a former Olympian. My body is feeling good. Mentally I’m better. My family is good. The timing is right.”
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