Olamide Zaccheaus learned to ‘adapt and grow’ at St. Joe’s Prep. He has carried those skills to the Commanders.

A former Eagles wide receiver, Zaccheaus will be a visitor this Sunday with a Super Bowl berth on the line.

Former St. Joseph's Prep receiver Olamide Zaccheaus led his team its second consecutive state championship in 2014.Read moreBRADLEY C. BOWER / FOR THE INQUIRER

Published Jan. 24, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET

If there was a moment that could describe Olamide Zaccheaus as a player at St. Joseph’s Prep, it would be his game-sealing interception in the 2014 PIAA Class 4A final, which gave the Hawks their second straight — and second-ever — state crown.

In addition to playing receiver, the senior filled in at cornerback after teammate John Reid went down with an injury in the first round of playoffs. Zaccheaus was versatile and a team player. But during that game, Zaccheaus had an interaction with former coach Gabe Infante. It was one Infante will never forget.

“Our quarterback throws an interception in the state championship game and I’m about to go rip him,” said Infante, now an assistant coach at Duke. “Olamide runs and jumps in front of us and defends him — basically challenges [me] and says, ‘No, not now.’ For me in those four years, that’s the moment when you realize my job’s done. He’s a man. He knows what he stands for.”

It was significant for Infante considering how far Zaccheaus has come. He once was a shy teen who came to the Prep with little desire to play football. However, he learned to “adapt and grow,” and continues to do so. The Washington Commanders receiver went undrafted in 2019 but has played six successful seasons in the NFL, which included four years with the Atlanta Falcons and a one-year stint with the Eagles last season, where he reconnected with former Prep teammate D’Andre Swift.

Now, the 27-year-old has found his way back home. On Sunday, Zaccheaus will return to Lincoln Financial Field to face his former team in the NFC championship game, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. In Week 16, Zaccheaus caught five passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-33 win against the Birds, one of his best performances of the season.

“It’s probably going to be emotional,” Infante said. “This will always be home. I’m sure it’ll be bittersweet in a lot of ways. I always said to those guys, ‘You’ve already won the game, all you’ve got to do is play.’ I think he’s already won the game.”

It’s also a reminder of how far he has come.

Zaccheaus moved from Plainfield to Magnolia, N.J., at age 7. His mother, Yimbra Mozimo, is a Nigerian immigrant who worked two jobs as a single parent to provide for Zaccheaus and his older brother, Olawole. While her sons were young boys, Mozimo found the strength to leave an abusive relationship that lasted for years.

Her support and guidance are the reason Zaccheaus is even playing football, Infante said. Mozimo pushed for her son to attend the Prep after meeting Infante at a camp in South Jersey. When Infante took the head coaching position, he ran a small youth camp and made an effort to see each of those players perform.

But that day, No. 20 caught his eye.

“There was a young man in South Jersey who had come to the camp. He was a quarterback, and I literally went to see him play on a Sunday,” Infante said. “I show up, and here’s this other young man running the football. I coached long enough to know that young men at his age don’t run like that.”

However, when Infante sat down with Zaccheaus for the first time, the youngster seemed uninterested, slouching in the couch chair with his hoodie pulled over his head. Even during Zaccheaus’ freshman season, Infante would drive him to school and practice. Mozimo would have to take him out of the house and lock the door so he couldn’t get back in.

The coach saw it as immaturity.

“We would have never thought at that point that he was going to have that kind of career, even though he had the ability,” Infante said. “He didn’t play varsity football as a freshman, he came up as a sophomore. Then his sophomore year, he started to come around. He really started to show that he could do some special things.”

It took college coaches even longer to see that. Zaccheaus was lightly recruited in high school. Some schools showed interest in the 5-foot-8 slot receiver, but at the time, the University of Virginia was the only Division I program to offer him a scholarship. Infante drove his family to the school to visit, and at first, Zaccheaus fought with his mother about committing to the program, saying there could be other schools that reach out.

Time was running out. Mozimo didn’t want to chance it. Her son had the opportunity to go to college for free and play football. She made the decision easy.

“She basically said, ‘I don’t care what you want. This is where you’re coming,’” Infante recalled. “What does he do? Four years there, all-time leading receiver. It’s just been amazing — God has been so present in his life.”

Zaccheaus ranks No. 1 in school history and No. 6 in the ACC record books with 250 career receptions. His 2,753 career receiving yards rank second in school history. Zaccheaus became just the third Cavalier to record more than 1,000 receiving yards in a season when he did so as a senior.

Tim Roken, now the Prep’s head coach who served as the offensive coordinator under Infante, had the chance to see Zaccheaus play in the 2018 Belk Bowl against South Carolina. It was his final college game, so Roken had a request:

“I got a ticket in the first row of the end zone,” Roken recalled. “I expect to see you in the end zone.”

He didn’t let his coach down. Zaccheaus was named the game’s Most Valuable Player after scoring three touchdowns and catching 12 passes for 100 yards.

When the coaches reflect on Zaccheaus’ time at the Prep, they can’t help but feel grateful to be part of his growth. Sometimes, Infante will send an old photo of him, Zaccheaus, and Reid, huddled together during a Hawks game as a reminder of his appreciation for how they helped him as a coach.

“They say the strong survive. That’s not true. The most adaptable do,” Infante said. “He adapted at the Prep, adapted at the University of Virginia. He’s adapted in the NFL. That’s his superpower, not his feet, not his hands.”