Runyan Among Three Drafted from Philly High School Powerhouse

D'Andre Swift (Lions), John Reid (Texans) and Jon Runyan (Packers) went to high school together at Saint Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Gabe Infante took over the football program at Saint Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia in 2010. His first team won three games.

Last week, three of his former players were selected in the NFL Draft, with Georgia running back D’Andre Swift going in the second round to Detroit, Penn State defensive back John Reid in the fourth round to Houston and Michigan offensive lineman in the sixth round to Green Bay. That was the most among traditional schools; IMG Academy, an athletics-based school in Bradenton, Fla., had four players drafted.

“To me, I’m grateful that I had the chance to get to know those young men,” Infante, now the running backs coach at Temple, said on Thursday. “It’s just a great opportunity to reflect on how I got to know all three of them and knowing their personal stories. It’s Christmas for those guys, right? They worked their whole lives waiting for those moments. It’s special as a coach and as a part of their lives. They’re all special in their own unique ways.”

Swift was part of state championship teams in 2013, 2014 and 2016 and was named the Philadelphia Inquirer’s player of the decade for Southeastern Pennsylvania. He had 1,564 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns on just 149 carries as a senior, when he was a high school All-American.

“I think of his family,” Infante said. “I think how important his family is to him, particularly his sisters and his mom. He’s got a great relationship with his dad but his mom is really the one that makes things go. He’s the best player I’ve ever coached, the best player I’ve ever been around – either coached or coached against. He’s the best I’ve ever seen. I’ve had multiple conversations with different college coaches when he was going through his recruiting process. The guys that passed him up early, I told them, ‘I think you’re passing up a Michael Jordan.’ Just a really unique player – dynamic and very well-rounded. He does everything well. There isn’t anything that he doesn’t do well.”

Reid was a four-year starter and part of state championship teams in 2013 and 2014. To Infante, Reid meant a lot more than simply being CBS Philly’s two-time player of the year as a star defensive back and receiver.

“I replaced a legend (Gil Brooks) and walked into some very big shoes,” Infante said. “John was really the first young man that came into the program and we built the program on him. He really changed the culture; he established our culture. We always said when your best player is your hardest-working player, it changes your whole culture. No one can get away with anything. That was John. John didn’t take any shortcuts, demanded so much of himself all the time, was a tireless worker, unselfish, tremendous heart. He really was the person that, looking back on it, he was the guy that was the tipping point for us as a program. He really paved the way for everybody else.”

Infante “stumbled upon” Reid while watching Runyan play on the same youth team. Infante has immense admiration for Runyan, who faced the challenge of living up to the outsized expectations of being the son of longtime NFL lineman Jon Runyan Sr. Runyan Jr. was part of Infante’s championship teams of 2013 and 2014 but only a three-star recruit.

“I don’t think people understand how much Jon had to overcome,” Infante said. “You would think that the son of a former NFL great would have an easier path but Jon probably had the toughest path of all three of them. What I admire most about him is his perseverance. D’Andre Swift is the all-encompassing, special, talented athlete; the gift. John Reid is heart. He’s all heart – heart and hard work. Jon Daniel was perseverance and courage. You have to understand that you’re Jon Daniel Runyan Jr. and you’re growing up in the area where your dad was a legend. So many people had such unrealistic expectations for that 16-year-old and were constantly criticizing him or constantly comparing him to his dad. Jon Daniel’s very quiet. I just admired his perseverance. I admired how he conducted himself, how he carried himself, despite all the pressure. He gives up a sack and you can imagine how the kids would ridicule him – not his teammates but opposing teams or social media. Just to see how far he’s come, it’s just amazing. All three of them have really, really special attributes and really special stories, and they complemented each other well as teammates.”

Swift, Reid, Runyan and Olamide Zaccheaus – an undrafted free agent out of Virginia in 2019 who scored a 93-yard touchdown for the Falcons late last season – were all part of the Saint Joseph’s Prep juggernaut. Infante coached them hard to drive them to new heights.

The reward, for both players and coach, came in last week’s draft.

“What I hoped they got from me was learning that good is not good enough if great is possible,” Infante said. “To me, I wasn’t coaching to an opponent. I was coaching to the potential that I saw in our team and our players. Most people struggle by being inconsistent, and teenagers are extremely inconsistent. When you have a special group and you know what they’re capable of doing, you live in fear as a coach that you’re not going to help them realize it. I’ve always coached that way. I’ve coached from fear of not helping those young men realize how good they could be. So, I was hard on them and I judged them very sharply every day. I hope they would tell you that. Practices were a lot harder than games.

“The other thing you have to understand is when you have players that talented at that age, they’re not going to be challenged very much. Once you have players like D’Andre or John or Olamide or Jon Daniel got to a certain level, I had to become their challenge because now they have to try to play to the standard that I believe that they can reach. That to me is a big part of helping those young men play to their ability. I once heard, ‘Don’t mistake success for excellence.’ What happens when you face someone who’s just as good as you or maybe better than you and you haven’t achieved excellence? For me, it was about helping those guys achieve excellence. Everybody told them how wonderful they were; someone needed to sit on the other side of the seesaw and make sure that they stay balanced. That was me.”