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
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"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.
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"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
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