St. Joe’s Prep head coach Tim Roken got a chance to speak with D’Andre Swift shortly after the Eagles pulled off a trade to bring the 24-year-old running back home.
And Swift was thrilled, Roken said.
“He’s got an unbelievable smile,” Roken said in an interview with NBC10 on Saturday, “so I can only envision the smile on his face and the happiness he’s feeling right now.”
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A couple days later, the Eagles tweeted out a photo of Swift and that smile entering the NovaCare Complex.
“To be able to come back home and be able to play for your city, it’s a kid’s dream and he’s living it in reality right now,” said Roken, who was the OC at St. Joe’s during Swift’s time there but has become the head coach since. “He’s fired up.”
Even as a high school student, the Eagles had their eyes on Swift, who spent some time at the facility. And when it was clear the Lions would make him available after drafting Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12 overall, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman made the call. The Eagles gave up a fourth-round pick in 2025 in the deal.
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While Swift hasn’t quite lived up to his second-round draft status out of Georgia and is entering the final year of his rookie contract, he figures to be a nice addition to the Eagles’ running back room. He has the type of big-play ability that could take a really good offense to the next level.
“Even when he was in high school we were watching him,” Roseman said. “We knew what kind of player he was, watched him through college. Really excited for that opportunity here.”
Roken is excited for Swift too. But he’s also excited for the St. Joe’s Prep program to have one of their most successful products back in Philly. In addition to Swift, the Eagles also signed one of his former teammates, Olamide Zaccheaus, to a one-year deal this offseason.
“It’s a real opportunity for guys,” Roken said. “We can explain to our younger guys what separated those guys when they were here. It’s one thing to love the game but to be committed to it to a higher level as they have in their time and the production they’ve shown at the highest level in college football and now to do that in the NFL at the highest level of this game is just amazing. To be able to have them back in the city, it’s great. I can’t wait to get them back here at the Prep.”
Before Swift became a star at Georgia, he was a three-time state champion at the Prep. As a senior in 2016, he led St. Joe's to a 14-0 record and a state title, while rushing for 1,564 yards and 34 total touchdowns. He was the Pennsylvania Football Writers All-State Player of the Year.
But none of that was easy.
Roken credited Swift’s parents for his upbringing but also likes to think St. Joe’s contributed to that work ethic too.
“You saw it very early on,” Roken said. “His passion for the game, his commitment to being great. There’s guys who separate themselves with doing extra work. Whether it’s before practice, in the offseason. Obviously credit to his father and his mother for how they raised him as a young man and just coming here with a great attitude and buying into what we were preaching.
“And then becoming a phenomenal leader for us. He came in with a lot of expectations but had some older guys he could learn from. Guys like Olamide and guys like John Reid and guys like Jon Runyan, those guys and just how they went about their business on a day-to-day as an older guy in the program. And then when those guys left, it became kind of his show. And he was able to be that leader for the next group.”
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