St. Joe's Prep Class of 2021 on College Decision Day. (Credit: St. Joe's Prep)
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Kyle McCord were teammates at St. Joe’s Prep, an all-boys Philadelphia private school, and graduated together in 2021. They are now teammates again, this time for the Philadelphia Eagles.
In a “From the Prep to the Pros” campaign, St. Joe’s Prep is utilizing the national spotlight from their NFL alumni and shining it on the rest of the Class of 2021, who all graduated from high school amidst the pandemic. Now, many of the former students have graduated from college and are beginning their adult lives.
“The Class of 2021 had their whole senior year kind of abbreviated,” said Bill Avington, a Prep graduate and spokesperson for the school. “It was a real disruption to their education, and we’re very proud that these guys really persevered."
The Prep’s ties to the Eagles began three years ago, when D’Andre Swift and Olamide Zaccheaus became the first alumni to play for the team. Predicting that the Philly school would receive attention with two alumni playing together for their hometown team, St. Joes did a “Welcome Home” campaign showcasing Swift and Zaccheaus.
The school interviewed the players’ families and people who knew them personally, focusing just as much on their football success as their character. Avington said the Prep didn’t want to be known as just a football school: they produce great players, but really they pride themselves on shaping both academically and socially well-rounded men.
“We want to tell a story about how we educate these young men to become leaders in their community,” said Avington.
Swift and Zaccheaus have since moved on to the Chicago Bears, but now St. Joe’s has a new round of Eagles representation. Linebacker Trotter was drafted to the Eagles in 2024, and quarterback Kyle McCord followed suit this year as the 181st pick in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft. Both were members of the Prep’s Class of 2021.
“We talk a lot about being brothers and working together forever,” said Avington. “So it's really cool that these two guys — who came in here together in 2017 — are now here four years later in the same locker room, still Prep brothers, still working together.”
To highlight the players, the Prep created a billboard of Trotter and McCord just outside Lincoln Financial Field on I-95, reading “From The Prep To the Pros, Brothers Forever.” At the bottom, there is a link to a website which shows profiles of the players, and the site houses another link for other featured members of the Class of 2021.
A photo of one side of the billboard, placed next to I-95. Avington said how even though the Prep is extremely proud of their NFL players, they are just as proud of their other alumni who graduated from college in the spring and are embarking on their professional careers. Though lacking the same media luster, a former student starting their business life, going to law school, grad school, or any other occupational avenue is just as valuable to the Prep.
“We’re trying to utilize this spotlight to then shine it on these other guys who maybe don't get the same attention the way an NFL player would,” said Avington.
Acknowledging the Class of 2021’s success is especially important to the Prep given the COVID-related challenges that this particular class faced. Their senior year was marked by masks and hybrid learning, and many scholars have since recognized the significant impacts of limited educational and social development during lockdown.
Whatever path St. Joe’s Prep graduates choose to take, the school is equally proud of their alumni who all accomplished the feat of entering adulthood during the pandemic. Avington said, “We’re going to celebrate all Prep alumni who are starting their journeys into their professional lives.”
