Where did Javon Hargrave go to college?

When we talk about the San Francisco 49ers, many tend to talk about their outstanding offense of Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, and Brock Purdy. However, Javon Hargrave has been their star on the defensive side of the field. He is a two-time Pro Bowler and had once reached the Super Bowl when he played for the Philadelphia Eagles. In the finals against the Kansas City Chiefs, Hargrave put up 60 tackles, 11 sacks, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. Despite coming out short in the Super Bowl, Hargrave played like he was a man on a mission and recorded 5 tackles.

What was surprising is that the Eagles let Hargrave go after he helped them reach the Super Bowl. He was already one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL and his production had not slowed down either. Regardless, the Eagles traded him away to the 49ers for a $84 million deal which might sound expensive at first but given Hargrave’s talent, he most certainly is worth the money. He proved that by making it to the Pro Bowl this season.

The reason why the 49ers wanted Hargrave is that they wanted to make their already stellar defense even stronger. Hargrave is one of the best pass-rushers in the league who can disrupt quarterbacks. Generating pressures, racking up sacks, and constantly putting the opposition’s QB in difficult maneuvers, Hargrave has made the already great defense even better this season. Hargrave ranked 9th in terms of Defensive Tackles Pass Rush Win Rate rankings and showed that even at the age of 30, he has still worked to add more to his game.

He is also a premium run defender and can disrupt offenses. Hargrave had 44 tackles and 8 tackles for losses in the 2023 NFL season. His dual-threat ability in being a run defender and a pass rusher makes him one of the more complete defenders in the game today.

The addition of Hargrave has clearly made the 49ers better, as the record speaks for itself. San Francisco is arguably the best team in the NFL currently and Hargrave has helped up their defensive intensity. His recent trip to the Super Bowl and his leadership qualities have resulted in a lot of success for the 49ers and San Francisco’s acquisition of Hargrave was looked at as a major upgrade for the team.

Javon Hargrave’s College

Hargrave attended South Carolina State University where he was named an All-American defensive lineman and 2x HBCUs Defensive Player of the Year. From 2012 to 2015, Hargrave played 45 total games and had 210 combined tackles, 143 solo tackles, and 37.0 sacks.

He was later selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft as the 89th overall pick. The Steelers signed him to a four-year, $3.114 million rookie contract before trading him away to the Eagles in 2020 after spending his first four seasons with the Steelers.