2024 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Richie Hagarty IV, DE/LB, Northwestern University

• Name: Richie Hagarty IV 
• Position: DE/OLB/LB
• College: Northwestern University 
• Height: 6‘3“
• Weight: 250
• Twitter: RichieHagarty
• Instagram: therichhag

What makes you a top prospect at your position in the 2024 NFL Draft?

There are multiple things that make me a top prospect for my position. First is my versatility in my athleticism. Personally, I have played multiple positions at the collegiate level from 2i, 3 tech, defensive end, outside linebacker, and even linebacker. Also contributing to multiple special teams as well. My unstoppable motor is the one thing that is truly separable from other players.

At what age were you first interested in the sport of football?

Around 3rd grade, I found a profound love and passion for football. My dad played semi-pro football so he was truly my inspiration on why I got into the sport in the first place. I begin to grow and develop within the sport and it only projected my passion for football that much more.

What is one thing that NFL teams should know about you?

My work ethic is unmatched. I truly work for something outside of myself. Having a four-year-old daughter is truly what separates me from most people as when you find your “why” and reason for doing what you do, it truly puts you on another level. She is my why and I cannot and will not let her down. 

If you could donate to one cause in the world, what would it be?

If I could donate to the one causing the world, it would be to save the children. We live in a very scary place in today’s world in which we need to protect our children at all costs and by any means necessary. Protect the ones who cannot protect themselves. 

What is the best advice you have ever received?

The best advice I have ever received is Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. There is always gonna be somebody out there bigger, stronger, and even faster than you. Consistency of the little things makes you separate yourself from the crowd. Outworking the more talented or gifted. Perspicacity and indefatigability make you a formidable force against any foe. 

Who was your childhood hero?

My dad is always been my childhood hero as he has done anything he could possibly do and made every sacrifice known to man to support his family by any means necessary. Something every father should aspire to do. Having a daughter myself now, I have taken after this mindset wholeheartedly. 

Who is the most underrated teammate in your locker room at your school?

Being a new transfer at Northwestern, I am not really aware of who is being recruited and their overall recruitment process too well. I feel as if Ben Bryant and AJ Henning are phenomenal prospects who will perspire for years to come in this game. 

What is your biggest pet peeve?

My biggest pet peeve is individuals who say they are going to do something and do not hold their word. If you say you were going to do something, the one thing in this world that you have to honor is your word. If I cannot even trust the words that you say, I cannot trust you as a person.

Overcoming adversity is what defines character, what was the hardest moment in your life to overcome?

The hardest moment in my life that I had to overcome is having my daughter during my senior year of high school. Being a young man, becoming a father truly made me mature much faster than other individuals around me and it made me the person that I am today. I am forever grateful for God’s plan as he brought me my biggest blessing disguised as an adverse situation. 

Tell me something about your school and why it is so special to you?

Northwestern University is actually the school. I truly wanted to go to coming out of high school, but was not granted the opportunity. The amount of love and brotherhood that I have been welcomed in with alongside the coaches and staff welcoming me in as family has been truly unfathomable. This place is just different…

What is your favorite snack food?

I’m truly not much of a snack person, but the one thing that I have always loved ever since I was a kid is a huge cup of milk. In all actuality as a kid, I actually drank milk more than I did water purely off of the fact that I enjoyed it much more than anything else that I could snack on.

What is the best part of football?

The best part about football is the relationships that come out of this sport. The amount of guys that will be at my wedding that I have met through this sport is almost every single one of my friends. Also, you can’t not love being able to hit somebody and not get in trouble for it as well. This is the one sport that allows you to do so in a violent manner other than fighting.

If you could sell yourself in one sentence what would you say?

My unmatched perspicacity coupled with my sheer indefatigability, makes me a feared opponent in any realm of human endeavor. 

If you could compare your play to one player in the NFL who would it be?

Maxx Crosby has been my comparison for multiple years now by other individuals. 

If you could have dinner with three people dead or alive, who would it be and why?

1. The first person that I would have dinner with is my cousin Brandon Begley. The main reason why I would want to have dinner with him is he was truly the most positive individual I have ever come across. He knew so much knowledge about this world that my family could not comprehend. At the point in my life where I’m at now, I think our conversation would be unmatched. 
2. The second person that I would have dinner with is Jesus Christ himself. You cannot get better than having dinner with the one who sacrificed everything so we could have what we have now. The amount of knowledge that would come from that conversation would be not of this world. There are so many things that we do not understand that could be clarified to help the lost people of this world we live in. 
3. The third person that I would have dinner with is my daughter Karsyn Lee Hagarty. The reason that I would have dinner with my daughter is because time is truly something that we take advantage of and that we don’t ever have enough of. You never know when your last day is going to be. Time is so precious and my time with my daughter is something that money cannot buy.