Between Saquon Barkley\u2019s historic debut season in the backfield and Jahan Dotson\u2019s postseason impact at wide receiver, the Lehigh Valley played an integral role in helping the Philadelphia Eagles win their second Super Bowl championship during the 2024-25 NFL season.<\/p>\n
DeVonta Smith and many inside the Eagles organization gave back to the Lehigh Valley on Saturday at the fourth annual DeVonta Smith and Friends Celebrity Softball Game at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown.<\/p>\n
Legends such as wide receiver Terrell Owens and former Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard joined a core of Eagles standouts led by Barkley, Smith, Dotson, Jalen Carter and Cooper DeJean at an event that packed the stands in Allentown and felt like an extension of the Super Bowl parade that took over Broad Street several months ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been awesome just being out here with these guys and with the fans too just having fun,\u201d DeJean said. \u201cI feel like a kid again. It\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fans had opportunities to sit and converse with players, as others filled the seats across the stadium and camped out on the centerfield lawn, taking in the atmosphere and getting a peek at their hometown stars.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fans are showing up and supporting. That\u2019s the biggest thing,\u201d said Smith, who walked-off his own event with a two-run home run, giving his \u201chome team\u201d a 16-14 victory. \u201cThe more they come support, the better it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of those in the stands scored autographs from a star-studded lineup of current and former professional athletes and even Philadelphia Little League World Series star Mo\u2019ne Davis.<\/p>\n
More than a decade since her breakout performance in Williamsport, Davis continues to make her work look easy, now as a broadcaster on ESPN and the MLB Network.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been good. It\u2019s actually been pretty easy. There\u2019s a lot of people who are willing to help me out and offering a helping hand,\u201d Davis said. \u201cA lot of people want to see my insight being on the field compared to being in the booth. The transition\u2019s been pretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Former Parkland football standout Kenny Yeboah is also in a transition period after spending the first four years of his NFL career with the New York Jets. Yeboah caught his first career touchdown from Aaron Rodgers last season against the Colts and is embracing another big personality in Detroit with head coach Dan Campbell.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey [the Detroit Lions] win, and being there the last couple of months, I see why. From the top down, they all are on the same page,\u201d Yeboah said. \u201cEveryone just cares about winning and do everything they can on that field to win. They play for each other. I\u2019m really looking forward to play for Coach [Dan] Campbell; he played tight end, so that\u2019s really cool. It\u2019s a special, special place to be, so I\u2019m excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four-time District 11 champion with the Trojans returned to the area with a message for two other former District 11 phenoms who are playing in the NFL.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just special because this is where I grew up and played at, so just to be around all the local talent and NFL players \u2026 it\u2019s amazing,\u201d Yeboah said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really cool thing that DeVonta puts together every year, so it\u2019s exciting. I\u2019m always happy to be a part of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke with [Saquon Barkley and Jahan Dotson] today and I just told them I\u2019m proud of them,\u201d Yeboah continued. \u201cIt\u2019s really cool to see that I was playing against them in high school not too long ago and now we\u2019re all in the NFL and they\u2019re winning Super Bowls and stuff, so it\u2019s surreal to see to be honest. I\u2019m proud of them and love seeing them doing their thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the three hometown heroes have become staples at Smith\u2019s event the last few years, fans embraced new faces like DeJean, a hero of Super Bowl LIX, and Eagles first-round draft selection Jihaad Campbell.<\/p>\n
The Alabama product already feels like a big part of the team despite not playing a snap for the reigning world champions yet, and is looking forward to showing what he can do with his new team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re welcoming me with open arms,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cI\u2019m just being a sponge and being somebody who can come in and have a will to learn and be transparent with. It\u2019s just taking it day by day and bettering myself every day. It\u2019s one day at a time just like a regular human being who works a regular job and wants to keep a happy mood. It\u2019s all about one day at a time and staying where your feet are and we\u2019re going to do that as a whole unit.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one stole the show quite like DeJean, however, who belted 14 home runs in 90 seconds to win the home run derby, smashed a handful more during the game and made multiple home run robberies in center field as well.<\/p>\n
The fan favorite, who was serenaded with loud cheers of \u201cCoop\u201d throughout the day, was a standout baseball player in high school, but even after a dominant day on the diamond, DeJean is content sticking with the organization perfectly showcasing his immense talent on the gridiron.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019d be fun,\u201d DeJean said about considering a two-sport career. \u201cBut I\u2019m having fun playing with the Eagles right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Derek Bast is a freelance sports reporter who can be found on Twitter\/X at @derek_bast or reached by email at derekbast11@gmail.com.<\/p>\n
Originally Published: June 29, 2025 at 2:27 PM EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Between Saquon Barkley\u2019s historic debut season in the backfield and Jahan Dotson\u2019s postseason impact at wide receiver, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2068],"tags":[25,7,6,242,109,2476,9,5367],"class_list":{"0":"post-168667","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-eagles","8":"tag-eagles","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","13":"tag-philadelphiaeagles","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-top-stories-tmc"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114768603268355140","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}