Temple's Haason Reddick top prospect in NFL Draft

Temple University's football team is expected to have a player selected on Day One of the NFL Draft in Philadelphia.

That player, Haason Reddick, was back in his hometown of Camden Monday, where he was given a key to the city on Battleship New Jersey

"I'm happy. I'm anxious and I'm ready to go. I'm ready to see where I'll be calling home for the next couple of years," Reddick said.

The key to Reddick's rise to a projected first round pick is hard work.

The linebacker was not recruited out of Haddon Heights High School.

Reddick was a walk-on at Temple. His mom spent roughly $100,000 to put him through college until he got a scholarship as a senior.

"It was times where seemed to get hard and I wanted to give up. I just wanted to get a job and take some of that stress off her. But her, being who she was, we were going to make it work," Reddick said.

"I get a bit emotional because he deserves it," Haason's mother Raelakia Reddick said.

Reddick plans to pay his mom back by buying her a house.

While former Eagles star Tra Thomas is paying it forward by giving Reddick some valuable tips.

"He's a great athlete. He's a speed rusher. He's definitely going to be good," Thomas said.

Find complete NFL Draft coverage at 6abc.com/NFLDraft

----------

Send a breaking news alert
Report a correction or typo
Learn more about the 6abc apps