FILE - In this April 14, 2017, file pool photo, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez turns to look in the direction of the jury as he reacts to his double murder acquittal after the sixth day of jury deliberations at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston. Massachusetts prosecutors on Friday, June 23, 2017, appealed a court ruling that erased the former NFL star's murder conviction in the 2013 killing of a semi-professional football player. Hernandez's conviction inwas voided after he killed himself in prison. Under a long-held Massachusetts legal principle, courts typically erase the convictions of defendants who die before their direct appeals can be heard. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia, Pool, File)Stephan Savoia/Associated Press

Mike Pouncey Says Aaron Hernandez Was in 'Great Spirits' Days Before Suicide

Adam WellsJul 27, 2017

Miami Dolphins center Mike Pouncey said former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was in "great spirits" during conversations between the two only days before Hernandez committed suicide on Apr. 19.

Per Adam H. Beasley of the Miami Herald, Pouncey talked about Hernandez following the Dolphins' first training camp practice Thursday.

“It was tough," Pouncey said. "Obviously, I don't condone any of the things that he was accused of, but just to have a friend I was so close with, that I felt like was my brother and I know that he felt the same way, it's tough. It's tough for anyone to have a loss in their family, but that one right there hit me and my brother really hard.”

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Hernandez hung himself in his prison cell at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center after he had been acquitted of a double-murder case stemming from a 2012 shooting in Boston.

He was already serving life in prison without parole after being convicted of first-degree murder charges from the 2013 shooting death of Odin Lloyd.

Pouncey and Hernandez played football together at the University of Florida from 2007-09, including winning a national championship in 2008.