It’s hard to believe Cam Jurgens had more important things on his mind when the Eagles selected him in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft, but finding shelter in his grandmother’s basement at her home in Pickerel, Nebraska from a tornado would qualify.
Draft Night
The night Jurgens was drafted he was unable to do a video chat after being selected due to a tornado warning causing him to not have WIFI.
Nebraska…
“Oh, my God, it was wild. About 10 minutes before I got picked, everybody’s phone is buzzing. My phone buzzed (for a tornado warning). I get picked, and we’re upstairs celebrating, and all of a sudden we hear this loud thunder and lightning outside. I’m like ‘all right, guys, we have to go downstairs now.’”
It was such a special night, that not everyone was on board to flee to safer surroundings, tornado warning or not.
“Grandma was like, ‘No, it’s been a great night. I’m not moving.”
Gotta love Grandma!
One would be hard-pressed to find a wilder draft night story.
“I gotta think I’m going to remember that for a long time. It was excitement, then all of a sudden chaos of a tornado, and thunder and lightning, and hail coming in. It was crazy.”
So if fans thought that the Eagle’s drafting competition, in the form of another OL in the 3rd round was going to rattle him, think again.
Eagles
Fortifying the lines is a core belief. I write about it every year when discussing the Eagles’ draft strategy. Fans like to mention every skill position player available, yet every year Howie shows you who is once again, by building through the trenches.
In 2022, when Philadelphia was on the board with their second-round pick #51, many fans, and talking heads during the draft, stated the Eagles should select Nakobe Dean.
(How they still drafted him a round later is a story all in itself).
Roseman actually stated he considered Dean at 51 but stuck to his belief, and stayed in the trenches by selecting Nebraska center Cam Jurgens.
Cam essentially had a redshirt season. He was brought in to eventually become Jason Kelces’ self-appointed successor.
But, the Eagles have a QB by the name of Jalen Hurts who is changing retirement plans and causing free agents to think twice about leaving.
Chasing rings is hard to walk away from, and the Eagles reaching the Super Bowl last year, makes it even harder as the hope of how good this team could be, became a reality.
So in 2023, when Kelce announced he was coming back, the Eagles had already anticipated such a decision and had countered by having Cam practice both guard and center last season.
Jurgens, and the Birds, were determined to make sure he was prepared to take over at RG when Isaac Seumalo left via free agency.
The Eagles love Jurgens, and he was always projected to get on the field this year, for one position or another.
Having to be ready to play multiple positions is not anything new to Cam, he’s been doing it since High School.
Growing up
Cam, the youngest of three children, is from Beatrice, Nebraska, where he worked on the family farm raising cattle, corn, and beans.
He was also developing the work ethic and character that follows him to this day.
Bryan Cook, a teacher, and longtime broadcaster in Beatrice
“All the talent he’s got, it’s still about the person he is. Not the athlete he is. It’s all from his mom and his dad and his family.”
The life lessons he learned on the farm in Nebraska, such as being prepared, working hard, and soaking in every bit of knowledge he could, serve him well in the game of football too.
Beatrice High School
Jurgens was a jack of all trades, playing fullback, linebacker, tight end, and even punter.
A natural athlete and hard worker, Cam has always been unfazed by being asked to do different chores or to play different positions.
Cam played basketball for his HS, where he was an all-state honorable mention selection, and he was a member of the track team, for which he won a state title in 2018, as well as being a four-time state champion in the discus and three-time champion in the shot put. Which runs in the family.
His mother Beth is a 12-time NAIA All-American at Nebraska-Kearney. She is in the school’s hall of fame by earning seven national titles, setting the indoor shot put record and the NAIA national championship discus record.
But excelling at football is Cam’s thing.
Jurgens earned Second Team All-State honors as a sophomore, and First Team All-State as a junior.
Even after missing half of the games his senior year due to an injury, he still ended up with 57 tackles and 1 interception on defense, while contributing 318 rushing yards, 277 receiving yards, and 8 touchdowns on offense.
He also was awarded another All-State honor.
Cam played at 245 pounds in high school as the team’s tight end, but unbeknownst to him as he made his way to Lincoln, he was about to be asked to play a position that he had never played nor even taken a snap.
College
Coming out of high school, Jurgens was ranked as the number seven tight end in the 2018 recruiting class, and number one in his home state.
Despite all of those accolades, and having no experience at the position, Nebraska Head Coach Scott Frost thought Jurgens could use his “nasty streak” and be turned into a dominating center.
So, in the spring practices of 2019, Frost did just that, by having Jurgens make the transition from tight end to center.
The rest is history.
Cam dominated as his Head Coach thought he would.
He would go on to start 31 out of a possible 32 games and play 2,067 snaps at the position.
Per PFF, in 1,016 pass-blocking snaps, Cam allowed 1 sack and a meager 4 QB hits in his 3 seasons as a starter.
This was good enough to be Nebraska’s highest-graded OL with the best pass and run-blocking grades.
He also performed well at the Combine.
Cam was the 5th fastest OL with a 4.92 40-yard and showed off his strength by pumping out 25 bench reps (225 lbs).
All of the hard work translated into Cam being the highest-drafted player from Nebraska, of the decade.
College scouts and NFL teams were taking notice, including former Eagles VP of player personnel, Andy Weidl.
“All those things that we like, that our offensive linemen do, we saw in Cam.”
Andy also stated that Jurgens does everything Stoutland likes an OL to do.
And Stoutland has a very persuasive voice.
So does the player he will eventually take the position of center from.
Praise
Jason Kelce
“He’s my favorite center prospect of the last 3-to-5 years, I think he can be special. I’m excited to work with him. This kid offers a seamless transition, same type of player, with exceptional upside. It’s hard to explain why I think he’s so good, it comes down to how he moves and looks. He bends well, opens his hips, is very strong for his size, is an incredible athlete for his size. On top of that, just a great temperament, solid workhorse, lunch-pail mentality.”
“I’m pretty excited about the kid,” Kelce said. “I liked him a lot. I like his tools. I like his mentality. I think I’ve looked at a few guys the past couple years when they’ve asked my opinions. He’s here obviously because [offensive line coach] Jeff Stoutland and Howie Roseman, Nick Sirianni, all these people, watched his tape and really believe in him. I think, although he does have a lot of similar traits to me, he’s going to be his own player, and I’m looking forward to helping out any of these young guys, in particular Cam.”
“Out of all the guys that compare the most to myself, this guy is him.” Jason Kelce
Can’t get much higher praise.
What Cam, and Kelce, lack in strength and size when they go against larger DLs, they make up for with their knowledge of the game and their technique.
Jurgens like Kelce, can also get to the second level down the field, and on stretch plays, he can be seen getting to the third level too. There is no quit.
Kelce and Cam also possess a tenacious fight inside of them and a desire to be better than anyone else across from them.
Competition
A lot was made pre-draft about the possibility of the Eagles selecting a guard or tackle with the tenth pick of the draft.
That didn’t happen.
They did draft Alabama tackle Tyler Steen in the 3rd round, and he was introduced as a guard, which makes a lot of sense.
Steen provides competition for Cam at RG, and since he played tackle in college, he will also be able to back up more positions across the line.
The Eagles want Cam to be the starter, but they aren’t giving anything to him. He will have to earn it this spring and summer.
Like always, he welcomes a challenge, on and off the football field.
When he is not competing on the gridiron, he is trying his hand at the ultra-competitive beef jerky business.
His company is appropriately named “Beef Jurgy.”
Beef Jurgy is not just a nickname, it’s a lifestyle!
In July of 2021, college athletes began to be able to profit from their image, name, and likeness, and with that came the creation of Beef Jurgy!
And with a name like Beef Jurgy, nobody could have been surprised when a high demand for the product took over their internet site.
Well, except for Cam.
“Our Shopify from the beef jerky sales, I was like, ‘Dang! It must have been good on social media.”
Their jerky isn’t the only product being sold that’s a hit, so is the apparel.
Jurgens stated they have sold shirts in 40+ states and several countries.
Cam’s super athlete mother stated that the shirts were initially made on a Cricut machine, but that lasted less than two weeks as demand increased.
Eagle’s fans, and their front office, can’t wait to see Jurgens’ career soar, as fast as his business did.
Check out the collection at the link below.
Shop Beef Jurgy
Shop the Beef Jurgy Logo collection now! beefjurgy.com
Culture
When he is not eating his “Beef Jurgy” Cam likes to enjoy a bowl of chili with a side of cinnamon rolls, IYKYK.
If you don’t, look it up.
Surprisingly delicious.
Cam Jurgens; football player, entrepreneur, and Nebraskan foodie.