PHILADELPHIA — Timing has not always been Haason Reddick’s friend.
A fractured femur sabotaged his senior year at Haddon Heights High School in New Jersey, limiting him to playing only four games. That left him as a walk-on freshman at Temple, where he eventually redshirted in 2012.
By the time he completed his senior year at Temple this past season, though, Reddick completely changed the narrative to his college career, vaulting himself into the conversation as a potential first-round NFL Draft pick.
By the time the pass-rushing linebacker excelled in the Senior Bowl and blew away scouts with his performance in February’s NFL Scouting Combine (were he ran a 4.52 40-yard-dash), Reddick cemented himself as a certain first-round pick. And Thursday night, he became the No. 13 overall selection by the Cardinals.
After all those years of perseverance, timing finally was on Reddick’s side Thursday night — in a way he never possibly imagined.
A long-shot kid from Camden, N.J., located on the other side of the Delaware River from Center City Philadelphia, got to walk onto the big stage upon being chosen as a first-round pick and to shake the hand of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
At the Philadelphia Museum of Art, located less than five miles away from where he starred for Temple, for which he recorded 10 ¹/₂ sacks and 22 ½ tackles for losses this last season.
When Reddick’s name was called, the tens of thousands of fans in attendance delivered the loudest roar of the night, sending chills down the spine of Reddick, who wasn’t even supposed to be here based on all the obstacles in his life.
“To hear the uproar from the crowd when my name was called … I didn’t know it was going to be that loud,’’ Reddick said minutes after he was chosen. “It was beautiful.’’
So, too, is his story.
Reddick wore a red tie to the draft, symbolic of where he thought he was going to be drafted. It was Cardinals red.
“I definitely had a feeling,’’ he said. “I talked to them throughout the process. They were my last visit.’’
Making his story even more special, Reddick will be coached by Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians, who was Temple’s head coach from 1983-88.
“To play for a fellow Temple guy? It’s special,’’ Reddick said. “I’m going to give everything I have to offer. I’m going to go out there and be a special person.’’
Reddick was not given a scholarship at Temple until his senior year, following a strong 2015 season. His mother had to give him meal money so he could eat with his teammates and not feel left out.
Reddick said the adversity he has faced on the field, dating back to his high school days, “made me have to work hard every single day.’’
“I was a hard worker before I even got to the college level. I was a hard worker in high school,’’ he said. “I just had some unfortunate setbacks.’’
Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer faced Reddick last season when the Fighting Irish defeated Temple in Philadelphia and called him an “absolute stud.’’
“You’ve got to game plan for him,’’ Kizer said. “He balled out against us. It took a whole team for us to go against a guy like him and win.’’
Mike Mayock, the NFL Network draft analyst, called Reddick “one of the best stories in the draft.’’
“He was hurt in high school, played four games his last year, walks on at Temple and they don’t even want him after a year and then [head coach] Matt Rhule and his staff come in,’’ Mayock said.
Indeed, Steve Addazio was the Temple coach when Reddick got to the program and he didn’t think the kid had a future. Reddick got his first big break when Rhule (who now coaches at Baylor) took over for Addazio and showed belief in him. Reddick took that turning point and ran with it — right into the first round of the NFL draft, held in the city where he played his college ball.
“I came so far — literally from the bottom,” Reddick said. “Two injuries in high school to walk-on and being overlooked and finally getting my chance to play football again. Now being able to go play in the NFL is just amazing. It’s like my hard work has been recognized. I’m living a dream. I don’t want to wake up yet.
“I never saw this coming, and somehow here I am. It’s still sinking in, man.’’
Finally, the timing was right for Reddick. In a way he never could have imagined, even in the darkest of times.