Draft Season, Ep. 2: Javon Hargrave, the small-school prospect on the rise

How did a stud like Javon Hargrave end up at a small school? Hargrave's circuitous path to the NFL draft all came down to one test.

Javon Hargrave knew football was his ticket to stardom from the first game of his high school career. Since then, he has proven his talent at every level. But the dominant defensive tackle’s road to the NFL draft ran through South Carolina State, a program that produces only a handful of prized prospects per decade.

Like many small-school standouts who starred away from the bright lights of big-money college football, Hargrave’s success as a pro will be forever linked with the program that stuck with him when the powerhouses of the sport looked elsewhere. ​In the second episode of Draft Season, a special Sports Illustrated podcast mini-series, SI’s Chris Burke visits Hargrave at South Carolina State as he prepares for the draft and reflects on the adversity that sharpened his resolve.

Draft Season will take listeners behind the scenes of one of the most anticipated events in sports, and will offer a look into the experience of a different prospect every week. Each pick is a player. Each player has a story. This is Hargrave’s.

Draft Season: SI's NFL draft miniseries
Sports Illustrated Podcast Network

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