Why Semaj Bridgeman transferred to Imhotep and the linebacker is being recruited by top college programs

Imhotep Charter football coach Devon Johnson first met Semaj Bridgeman when he was an eighth grader deciding where he wanted to play high school football.

Bridgeman did not end up choosing to play for Johnson at Imhotep, instead starting his high school career at Bishop McDevitt in Wyncote. After McDevitt shut down at the end of the 2020-21 school year, Bridgeman transferred to play for Archbishop Wood.

In that time, Bridgeman began to establish himself as one of Philadelphia’s rising football stars. The four-star linebacker is ranked as the No. 5 player in Pennsylvania in the class of 2023 by 247Sports.com and is in the top 20 national rankings online at his position.

Ahead of his senior year, Bridgeman chose to transfer to Imhotep to prepare for his Division I future.

“I think the program is really feeling like a college program, and I like it,” Bridgeman said. “That was the main reason for the transfer.”

This spring, Bridgeman has gotten the chance to start integrating himself into Imhotep’s program. In addition to participating in the Panthers’ spring workouts, Bridgeman was also a featured prospect at Imhotep’s football showcase in mid-May that drew coaches from as far away as Oregon.

Those spring activities have helped the 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker begin to build relationships with his new teammates and establish himself in the program’s culture.

“The bonding process is good,” Bridgeman said. “I’m actually fitting in pretty well being as though it’s like my people, and the showcase was good because a lot of colleges came out.”

Said Johnson: “He’s just been a joy to be around, and honestly, he’s fit right into our program seamlessly.

“Just to see him up close, I got a whole new respect for him. I always got to see him on film or maybe if I caught a game of his. But just seeing him, the way he works, he’s one of the strongest kids on our team, he’s super fast, closes out to the ball, understands football.”

Bridgeman’s efforts will be key for Imhotep as it looks to build on its 2021 season, which ended in an overtime loss to Penn-Trafford in the PIAA Class 5A championship game.

The Panthers graduated 22 seniors from that state title runner-up team, including several key playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. Among the program’s 2022 graduates are Texas A&M signee Enai White, Penn State signee Keon Wylie, and Temple-bound Khalif Kemp.

“It’s real big [getting] that veteran leadership back,” Johnson said. “Because he has played in state playoffs [and] he’s played at high levels, his level is going to elevate everybody else around him. So, it’s really good for us to be able to put him into a lineup that we really lost so much on.”

Bridgeman is far from the first player to transfer to Imhotep during his high school career. But his path is unique in that his transfer came later in his high school career, after he had already established himself as a blue-chip recruit.

As a result, Imhotep’s coaches have been able to take a more supporting role as Bridgeman looks to make his decision.

“We’re late in this process,” Johnson said. “So, our thing is just kind of helping him sit down, narrow down what his schools are, trying to figure out what visits he’s going to take.”

Bridgeman’s recruiting process started early, with him drawing offers from Power 5 programs since the spring of his freshman year. Since then, Bridgeman has narrowed his list, and on Monday, he announced his top six schools — Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Rutgers, and South Carolina.

Bridgeman is starting to think about the things he wants to prioritize on his visits.

“It’s going to be how I feel on the campus and the defensive scheme that the team is running at the university,” Bridgeman said. “Seeing what the campus is like, the majors and stuff that I could do beyond football at the school.”

Bridgeman isn’t the only big-time recruit at Imhotep going through the recruiting process. Panthers safety Rahmir Stewart is also a four-star recruit in the 2023 class and is a top-five player in the state. The pair of defensive standouts have already started to bond over the recruiting process, discussing similar schools that they each have interest in.

Throughout his recruiting process, Bridgeman is also staying grounded.

“I mean, it’s going to be a blessing, because I really pray for it every night,” Bridgeman said. “It was my dream since I was coming up as a young’un, so it’s just going to be a blessing for me.”