Exuberant Eagles fan Jihaad Campbell lands with hometown team in NFL draft: ‘The rich got richer’

GREEN BAY, Wis. — For the first 30 draft selections on Thursday night, Jihaad Campbell waited patiently for his name to be called.

Then, a 215 area code popped up on Campbell’s phone. Campbell, the Erial, N.J., native who played three years of his high school ball at Timber Creek, was going to be a Philadelphia Eagle.

What happened next — an outburst of genuine emotion and excitement — was captured on television at the NFL draft.

» READ MORE: Eagles draft Alabama LB Jihaad Campbell with 31st overall pick, bringing the South Jersey native home

Campbell skipping down the draft theater hall, screaming “let’s go!” and slapping the Eagles logo emblem before donning the Eagles hat and bear hugging NFL commissioner Roger Goodell showed just how impactful the moment was for the 21-year-old.

“It was a surreal moment. It was like dreams to reality,” Campbell said late Thursday. “Because I always remember, just having that Eagles jersey on and always being a representation of watching the Eagles, even when I was at, like, First Watch [in Bradenton, Fla.], watching them on TV with my pops and stuff like that. And my whole family’s all Eagles fans, so it was a dream come true.

“The rich just got richer.”

Campbell was beaming from ear to ear throughout the media session. It’s a smile that has shined through since he was 16 years old at Timber Creek, one his former coach Brian Wright knows well.

He was a linebacker at Alabama but became a five-star recruit at edge rusher. And much like his college tape shows, he’s a ball magnet who makes plays from multiple alignments and is a game-wrecker wherever he lined up.

“He was always around the ball. It didn’t make a difference if you’re running the ball at him or running the ball away from him. He had a nose for that ball,” Wright told The Inquirer by phone earlier this week. “He was [always] going to go make that tackle. His athleticism, his strength, his size, his speed really kind of separated him from the other kids out on the field with him.”

» READ MORE: Jihaad Campbell’s journey began at Timber Creek

Throughout his journey, Campbell has carried his South Jersey roots with him. Campbell’s draft outfit, created by Mitch Purgason, a renowned clothing designer who has made outfits for NFL stars like Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, and T.J. Hockenson, incorporated photos of family members to pay homage to those who made his NFL dreams come true.

Campbell was joined by parents, Stephanie Hopkins and Mark Campbell, on the red carpet ahead of the draft, along with several other family members, who made the trip from South Jersey, in the green room.

“All the sacrifices and all the long nights and early mornings of taking me to practice and picking me up from the football field or the basketball gym or whatever, those don’t go unnoticed,” Jihaad Campbell said.

He also spoke of former academic adviser, Mary Maruggi, who died unexpectedly in July. She had worked in the Alabama athletic department since 2020.

“I definitely want to give a special shout-out to Ms. Mary,” Campbell said. “She was my academic adviser. And you know, I just never forget about her. I always miss her, and I definitely love her, and this was definitely dedicated for her.”

Beyond his talents on the field, Campbell’s personality has been described as exuberant.

“He was very well-liked within our building, and not just on the athletic side, but most teachers, his administrators, loved the kid to death,” Wright said. [On the football field] he flew around, made tackles, did it with a smile on his face, and then just lined back up and did it again."

During his senior season, Campbell moved from South Jersey to Bradenton, Fla., to play for IMG Academy, one of the top high school football programs nationally.

Keon Sabb, a former Glassboro and Williamstown High School star, also transferred to IMG for his final season, and the pair formed a strong bond there. At one point, both were pledged to Clemson, but when Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables took the Oklahoma head coaching job in December 2021, the players decommitted and went their separate ways. Campbell chose Alabama, and Sabb chose Michigan.

The pair was reunited when Sabb transferred to Alabama in February 2024. Sabb still remembers meeting Campbell back at IMG.

» READ MORE: South Jersey’s Keon Sabb and Jihaad Campbell were key players for Alabama

“The first impression I had of ‘Haad was his dynamic personality,” Sabb told The Inquirer. “His big energy and his beast mentality. I knew this guy was a worker like myself, and I could fully appreciate that. Coming from South Jersey, I feel sometimes our talent is overlooked or undervalued. So I think we go a little harder to show that we are as talented as players across the country.”

The pair only played seven games together in 2024 before a broken foot kept Sabb out for the final six games. But Sabb and Campbell helped Alabama’s defense get off to a fast start, including in a dominant 42-10 win over Wisconsin last September, trading impactful plays.

Before the Eagles traded up to take Campbell No. 31 overall, Sabb had high praise for his former teammate.

“Any team that drafts Jihaad is getting a winner, a guy who is a great teammate, a vocal leader, a hard worker, the total package,” Sabb said. “[He is] dominant and unwavering. … He is going to fight on every play, and that’s exactly what I saw this [past] season and what I’ve been seeing since IMG.”

Wright, who said he took several calls from the NFL about Campbell since last fall, added: “This kid is going to be able to fill many or several roles on an NFL defense. ‘Bama had him playing inside. He can certainly play outside if needed. He can rush the quarterback if needed. He’s just really a special talent.”

» READ MORE: Read between the lines: Eagles may have drafted a ‘linebacker,’ but Jihaad Campbell projects as an edge rusher

Nineteen selections before Campbell heard his name called, former IMG and Alabama teammate Tyler Booker, the offensive lineman who told The Inquirer on Wednesday that the linebacker was “my brother,” was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles’ NFC East rival.

The bond between Booker and Campbell has been strong for the last four years. The pair often worked off to the side at IMG after practice, Booker as a tackle and Campbell an edge rusher.

“We were always trying to make each other better,” the Alabama guard said, as Campbell may have one rep, while he won the next.

Now, they’ll be on opposite sidelines twice a year.

“That’s something where we both grew as players by being able to go against each other [in practice],” Booker said Wednesday. “Iron sharpens iron.”

When asked about facing Booker, Campbell said, with a laugh: “It means a lot, man. Iron sharpens iron. He’s an absolute dude, but we’re coming for him.”

Growing up an Eagles fan, Campbell’s favorite player was Brian Dawkins, the fearsome Birds safety. Campbell appreciated the ferocity Dawkins played with.

In describing himself, Campbell mentioned many of the same adjectives one could use to describe Dawkins.

» READ MORE: Five things to know about the Eagles’ first-round draft pick

“That tenacity that [Dawkins] brings to the game, that aggression, that’s what I bring to the game,” Campbell said. “That competitive nature, that certain type of attitude that you have a want to win and you have a will to harm.”

Describing his emotions on the draft stage in Green Bay, Campbell took the microphone from NFL Network’s Jamie Erdahl and had a simple message:

“Shoutout to everybody back at home, man, I’m coming back home,” he said. “Philly, y’all know what’s up, we got it turned up, we got to get lit. We got to win another freaking Super Bowl next year, man. It’s on!”

Oh, how sweet home is.