Eagles' Class of 2007 graduates to leadership roles

They arrived from Texas, from Utah, and from Ohio to an unfamiliar home on the side of a Pennsylvania mountain, eager, anxious, and a little unsure.

The three young men, each just out of college, had a new home, new bosses, new teammates. The organization they now worked for, the Philadelphia Eagles, was also laying the groundwork for a new beginning.

That was in the summer of 2007, and quarterback Kevin Kolb, middle linebacker Stewart Bradley, and tight end Brent Celek were NFL rookies sharing a dorm room on the mountainous campus of Lehigh University.

They came to a team thriving under veteran leadership, one with the talent to be an annual Super Bowl contender. The three saw the stars around them, the playoff expectations and championship aspirations, and, Kolb said, they hoped - one day - this could be theirs.

"We were looking at those older guys going, 'Man, I hope we're there one day. I hope we're doing this,' " Kolb said. "From the word go we were like, 'OK, here's kind of what we want to do: We want to be the starters here, and we all want to stay here together, and we want to go win the Super Bowl and build the team around us. You just dream about that as a young player."

Still, no one, not them, not Eagles executives, not coach Andy Reid, could know whether these three would be the kind of draft picks that provide the foundation for a team or the kind that quickly and uneventfully wash out of the league.

Yes, Kolb, Bradley, and Celek were among the 255 college football players selected in that NFL draft. But every year scores of those chosen fail, leaving hopes dashed, coaches disappointed, and teams to simply move on.

Bonding experience

As a fifth-round pick, Celek faced by far the longest odds of the three. And along with competing for a job through midsummer heat and humidity that made the air milkshake-thick, he had another challenge.

Having grown up in Cincinnati, having gone to high school there and college there, Celek was away from home for the longest period in his life. An earnest Midwesterner with broad shoulders, a reserved speaking style, and a taste for stylish sneakers, Celek in college was used to eating with his family once a week.

Now, far from home, he had demanding coaches watching him, and on the line was his dream: a chance to play professional football.

"I was very nervous, and it was hard. It was very hard," remembered Celek, wearing a pair of tennis-ball green Nikes.