Watch: Former Bearcat Brent Celek Praises Jason Kelce's Leadership

Kelce played at Cincinnati from 2006-10 and was teammates with Celek on the Eagles for seven years in Philadelphia.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Dec 14, 2021 3:18 PM EST

CINCINNATI — Philadelphia had a Bearcat reunion on their hands when Brent Celek congratulated his old teammate Jason Kelce on his latest accomplishment. The Eagles center and 2011 sixth-round pick out of Cincinnati is Philadelphia's Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.

Celek told Kelce how proud he was of the big man's accomplishment and told an old story from their UC days. Former Bearcats defensive end Connor Barwin, now a part of the Eagles media team, brought the two together on camera.

"I never thought that all three of us would be sitting here after our time in Cincinnati," Celek said to Kelce and Barwin. "I remember the first time I really met you [Kelce] was long snapping...Dude, that's one of the few memories I truly remember. You were long snapping, and you had those Chuck Bednarik arm sleeves on, with the pads, but the pads went all the way to your knuckles, and I was like, 'dude, come on' this is like 2006."

"One of the linebackers called me Dick Butkus that year," Kelce said back as they reminisced on old times.

Celek played for Cincinnati from 2003-06 and went on to play all 11 of his NFL seasons with Philadelphia before retiring after their Super Bowl victory in the 2017-18 campaign. Kelce and Celek spent seven seasons together in Philly and crossed over at UC during the 2006 season. Barwin attended UC from 2005-08, playing football and basketball for the Bearcats

"I didn't really know you too much then, but being able to play with you for a long time, I mean, to me, you're the ultimate leader," Celek continued. "The reason I say that is you just make the people around you so much better. Whether that's on the field, making sure that you see every single look, and making sure that the offensive line, the tight ends, everyone is tied in...Or off the field, just being a great friend that I can talk to."

The Walter Payton Man of the Year award recognizes one NFL player across the 32 teams that went above and beyond in their community. Watch the full exchange from the UC greats below.

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