Derek Hagan was three-sport athlete at Palmdale High School in California, playing football, basketball, and running track. He served as team captain in all three sports his senior year. In football Derek broke the school’s single-season receiving yardage record with 843 yards as a senior. He added 9 interceptions as a defensive back and was named team MVP both his junior and senior seasons. He also was named to the all-city team as a senior and the all-district team as a junior and senior. As a member of the track team Hagan once triple jumped 46 feet. He average 12 points and 5 rebounds per game for the Palmdale basketball team. After his high school career was over, Hagan accepted a scholarship to play football at Arizona State University. He was an instant contributor for the Sun Devils, finishing third on the team in receiving with 405 yards on 32 receptions (a school record for a freshman). By the beginning of his sophomore year, Hagan had earned a spot as a starting receiver. He went on to lead the team in receiving that year with 66 receptions for 1,076 yards. His seven touchdown grabs as a sophomore ranked seventh in school history. He bested that as a junior with 10 touchdown receptions (sixth in school history) and 83 receptions for 1,248 yards (both rank second in ASU history), averaging an ASU record 104 yards per game. Hagan finished his junior year off on a high note being named to ESPN’s all-bowl team for his 10 catch, 182 yard performance against Purdue in the Sun Bowl. He was named second team All-PAC 10 and second team All-American as well as being a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award as a junior. After just three seasons in college, Derek Hagan had already put up more 100 yard performances than any other player in Arizona State history. Additionally he was already the only player in school history to have back to back 1,000 yard receiving seasons. Hagan returned to Arizona State as the team captain for his senior season looking to become the first Arizona State player to put up three consecutive 1,000 receiving seasons.

Derek Hagan has good height for a receiver but he is a little slender. He would benefit at the next level by adding about 10 pounds of bulk. He isn’t a burner by any means but has very good speed along with excellent hands. He displays excellent leaping ability and does a good job of catching the football at its highest point. He will lose concentration at times and drop some easy passes--Consistency is something he will need to work on to excel at the next level. He is a very strong, physical receiver who isn’t afraid to go over the middle and make a tough catch in traffic. In his time at Arizona State, Derek Hagan has proven to be a very durable receiver. He has had some minor injuries but he has played through them, never missing a single game due to injury. He is a true “student of the game” who watches tons of film on both defensive backs and other receivers. He always strives for continuous improvement no matter how good he is. Derek is one of the most talented receivers in the nation and has a chance to become the first senior receiver selected in the 2006 NFL draft.