Philadelphia Eagles star Haason Reddick is heading to the Super Bowl. But the 28-year-old from South Jersey did not have any scholarship offers out of Haddon Heights High School.

Since he had no scholarships, Reddick walked on to the team at Temple University. His mother had to take out a loan just to get him a meal plan.

Reddick may be a football sensation now, but he spent most of his high school career in the locker room.

“Everyone wants to hear these stories of how amazing an athlete he was when he was here, and that’s just not what I can tell you,” says Tim O’Donnell, the Haddon Heights High School athletic trainer.

O’Donnell says that injuries in preseason scrimmages caused Reddick to miss his junior season and almost all of his senior year. It was enough to keep some teens from coming back.

“A lot of kids do disappear. They go and play video games at home. He stuck around the football team. He rehabbed. He worked hard,” O’Donnell says.

Reddick eventually earned a scholarship at Temple University. He then became a first-round NFL draft pick. It’s Reddick’s first year with the Eagles. He signed a $45 million contract.

Reddick had two critical sacks Sunday night to knock the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback out of the game. It created a whirlwind of emotion.

“I was just overwhelmed and overjoyed,” Reddick said.

And those at Haddon Heights High School feel the same.

"He knew he wanted to play in college, and he went and he got it. He went and he got it, and he didn't let anybody tell him that he couldn't do it,” says athletic director Joe Cramp.

Cramp says that this message resonates with his players. He says Reddick met with the Haddon Heights football team this past season to tell them about hard work.