Aaron Hernandez often used "angel dust" and became paranoid to the point where he carried a gun with him at all times, according to an article in Rolling Stone.

The article exposed the darker side of Hernandez's past, which included a rocky journey through college at the University of Florida. Reports have surfaced indicating that Hernandez's former coach, Urban Meyer, may have covered up drug tests by lying and saying that the troubled star was once benched because he "wasn't ready to play."

He gave NFL head coaches headaches, too. Patriots coach Bill Belichick knew that Hernandez had some issues in the past but recently problems started to mount to the point where the coach was getting fed up. Accrording to the Rolling Stone article, Belichick told Hernandez that he was "one misstep" away from being cut from the team.

In February, Hernandez flew to meet coach Bill Belichick at the NFL combine and told him he feared for his life. Belichick advised him to get a safe house, never knowing that the future apartment would become the center of the investigation. After Hernandez's arrest, investigators searched the apartment and found key pieces of evidence such as boxes of ammunition and clothing.

As Hernandez continued to find himself surrounded by the wrong crowd, his family and friends watched as he transformed into a drug abuser who was losing a grip on his life.

"Don't matter what it's about: Aaron's out of his mind," one friend of family said to Rolling Stone. "He's been twisted on dust now for more than a year, which is when all of this crazy sh*t started."

The 23-year-old former NFL star remains in jail on first-degree murder and five weapon charges.

The NFL Players Association filed a grievance this week on behalf of Aaron Hernandez in an effort to get the New England Patriots to pay the former star $82,000 in owed money stemming from offseason workouts. It is not yet known whether the money would go to his fiancée, Shayana Jenkins, in the form of child support for their son.