RIVER ROUGE, Mich. — Tennessee Football players are waiting in anticipation to hear their name called in the NFL Draft.
A few of them will be selected. The first round will take place on Thursday, but UT players will probably go between the second and seventh rounds. One of those Vols will likely be cornerback Kamal Hadden.
“I’m really excited, man," Hadden said ahead of the NFL Draft. "I hope I get this opportunity and I hope I get my name called man.”
The year he is going pro, the NFL Draft will be in Detroit — close to his hometown of River Rouge, Michigan.
He will be watching the NFL Draft with his family at home.
“It’s great to have it here man. I was just down in Detroit," he said. "I got to see some of the draft things, see some of the events and stuff like that. It’s just great for my family to have bragging rights and to have something different to actually watch it and go down there and say they have a family member in the draft.”
Hadden was at UT for three seasons after transferring in. He played at Independence Community College and then spring at Auburn before joining the Vols.
He began starting games in 2022, but fans criticized him because at times he let up big plays. Hadden heard the talk and kept working.
“I did what a lot of corners should do, get better tremendously each year," Hadden said.
Last season before his season-ending shoulder injury he suffered against Alabama, he was one of the best cornerbacks in the country statistically.
In seven games, he allowed a passer rating of just seven while defending, which ranked the best in the nation among Power 5 conference defensive backs according to Pro Football Focus.
He had three interceptions, including the pick-six against South Carolina and the one that sealed the game against Texas A&M.
“I took it to another level," he said. "There was something I could clean up and I did that. I kind of just stay self-motivated and self-driven just to be better than I was. I always want to outdo myself and outdo what I did last time.”
He wants to keep raising his level of play as he gets ready to go pro. As he awaits his name to be called in the NFL Draft, he can’t wait to prove himself more.
“I know my work doesn’t end here, I know my work is getting started I got a lot to prove," he said. "It’s going to be a lot of emotions, man.”
Hadden is projected in mock drafts to be selected anywhere between the fourth and seventh rounds. Those rounds will take place on Saturday afternoon.
