When did Aaron Hernandez play for the Florida Gators? Former TE's 'Untold' career on 'Swamp Kings' explored

Aaron Hernandez would go down in history mainly for his infamous off-field antics, rather than his performance as a football player. The Florida Gators and New England Patriots player was indicted for three murders, and convicted for the murder of his fiancee's sister Odin Lloyd.

He was acquitted of the murder charges of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in 2017.

All of this destroyed what could have been a stellar career in the NFL for a player who won the BCS National Championship with the Gators back in 2008.

He was also a First Team All-American and First Team All-SEC and a recipient of the John Mackey Award in the 2009 season. Any athletic accomplishment by TE gets obscured by his horrendous actions in his personal life.

The recent Netflix documentary about Meyer's Gators was lambasted for almost completely omitting Hernandez's time at UF. Today, we are telling you what they didn't.

Hernandez played with the Patriots in the NFL

2007-2008: Aaron Hernandez with the Gators

Aaron Hernandez had 1,382 receiving yards with 12 TDs in three seasons at the University of Florida, averaging 12.5 yards per reception. In total, he played 40 games for the Gators and was a starter for the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

In the BCS National Championship game in 2009, he led the team in receiving yards with 57. His standout season came in 2009 when he led the team in receptions and receiving yards with 68 receptions and 850 yards. For his efforts, he won the John Mackey Award as the nation's best tight end.

Nonetheless, the worrying signs of what was to come were starting to show. Coach Urban Meyer described a distressed individual and said that he tried to steer him in the right direction. Meyer tried to pull him from the football team for his abusive use of marijuana and only relented after an appeal from Tim Tebow.

In college, he roomed with Maurkice and Mike Pouncey who coach Meyer thought would be a positive influence on him

Aaron Hernandez's early encounters with the police

Hernandez had several encounters with the police during his time at the University of Florida.

On April 28, 2007, according to a police report, a 17-year-old Hernandez, accompanied by Tebow, consumed alcoholic beverages and refused to pay the bill. He had to be escorted out of a restaurant in the Gainsville area.

When being escorted out, Hernandez reportedly hit the manager in the head, rupturing his eardrum. When the police appeared on the scene, they recommended pressing charges for battery against Hernandez, but the case was fixed with an outside-the-court deal.

Later on September 30, a witness of a car shooting at a Gainsville traffic light picked Hernandez's picture out of a police lineup. The police interviewed several players at UF, with only Hernandez failing to cooperate and invoking his right to counsel.

When they finally got to interview him, police officers reported that they found him sleeping with his head against the table. At the time, no charges were pressed, but a later investigation concluded he wasn't the shooter.

Aaron Hernandez's death

In 2015, Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In the early morning of April 19, 2017, he was found hanging from bed sheets by correction officers at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.

He would be declared dead at the UMass Memorial Hospital at 4:07 AM that day. He had been smoking a highly psychotic drug, K2, at least 10 hours before his death.