Camden High School's James Heard Jr. is South Jersey Defensive Football Player of the Year

James Heard Sr. didn’t notice any difference in his son.

James Heard Jr. was forced to sit the first four games of Camden High School’s football season after transferring from St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia, a decision neither the family nor the team expected.

The younger Heard could’ve easily boiled over in frustration. He could’ve wallowed in self-pity. He could’ve mailed in his senior year having already committed to West Virginia.

He did none of that.

Heard treated every day during his wait the same. He got up, ate, worked out, went to school and trained. He meditated, as he’s done since he was a little boy. He did yoga.

“You wouldn’t even know that he had to be (out) four games,” his dad said.

More:Hammonton High School's Kenny Smith is South Jersey Offensive Football Player of the Year

There were a few that noticed though. Heard was even-keeled everywhere but the practice field. There, he yelled, he screamed and he hammered the Panthers’ front five.

“I kind of took it all out on my offensive linemen,” he said.

“I was like, let ’em have a little success today,” head coach Rob Hinson laughed.

Heard didn’t offer the same reprieve to the opposition. The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder returned Oct. 1 against Haddon Heights and transformed Camden’s defense into one of the best units in the state.

Heard had 33 tackles, 18 for loss, 18 sacks and 3 forced fumbles in just nine games to power his hometown Panthers to their first sectional championship since 1976.

Heard is the Courier-Post South Jersey Football Defensive Player of the Year.

“I let my (defensive backs) know, they don’t have to cover for more than three seconds,” Heard said. “I’m going to get there in three seconds. That’s all I’m telling ’em for (nine) games, just give me three seconds and the play going to happen.”

More:All-South Jersey High School Football Teams for the 2022 season

Camden’s defense was stout before Heard’s return with Richard “Wink” James and Jahmye Tyson up front, Tahmir Bush and Craig Walton flying around at linebacker and a loaded secondary featuring by Taquan Brittingham, Israel Clark-White, Braheem Long and Hamin Anderson, just to name a few.

Heard took that group to another level though.

“His impact was immediate,” Hinson said.

Camden allowed a single offensive touchdown in Heard’s first seven games (the JV allowed a score too in a victory over Camden Catholic on Oct. 21). The Panthers shut out all three of their opponents in the sectional playoffs en route to the Central 3 crown before falling to Delsea in the state semis.

“From a physical standpoint, most high school offensive linemen aren’t able to block him,” Hinson explained. “Most high school offensive coordinators won’t build their game plan attacking him, so now they go to the opposite side, so you can kind of strengthen your other side.”

Heard was routinely double- and triple-teamed or was chasing plays schemed away from him.

“Just knowing that I can cause that type of change to an offense and my teammates around me can benefit from it, I feel like I kind of take pride in it,” Heard said.

Heard’s impact wasn’t just on game day though.

Heard’s relentless aggression on Camden’s offensive line in practice helped turn a unit that struggled to open the season into a much-improved front five as the fall went on.

More:Woodbury High School's Anthony Reagan is the South Jersey Football Coach of the Year

“We had one returning starter on the offensive line, he was a sophomore,” Hinson said. “Typically, when you got a player of his caliber, the other guys get used to going against him in practice, but he’s so good that sometimes they were intimidated, so it kind of was backfiring a little bit. … As the season went on, he got used to working with them. He was coaching ’em up, and that started building their confidence.”

He was also a leader, even when he wasn’t suiting up on Fridays.

“When your best player works the hardest, then everyone else follows,” Hinson said. “… He made everybody else better. His energy, these kids aren’t vocal kids, but James was bringing a lot of energy. He was vocal. He got them to come out of their shell. When he wasn’t vocal or yelling or screaming at practice, the guys wouldn’t do it either. He was like having another coach out there.”

Heard got that from his time at St. Joseph’s.

“I wasn’t ever really a vocal kid,” said Heard, who spent his first two seasons with Eastern. “But knowing the energy that comes from one guy being vocal, it changes the whole dynamic of practice. I used all the pieces I obtained from freshman year and kind of made it happen over at the High.”

He’s hoping to do the same thing at West Virginia. He plans to graduate early from Camden and get to work in the coming months.

“I’m anticipating to go out there and impact the defense early,” he said.

More:Millville is the South Jersey Football Team of the Year, plus final Mean 15 rankings

Hinson, who previously worked at Rutgers, believes he will.

He feels the Moutaineers’ coaching and scheme fit Heard well, and Heard’s ability to overcome adversity, like he did this season, and adapt, which he showed in stints at three high schools, will help him clear any hurdles he faces.

“He’s just a super young man,” Hinson said.

Combine that with his talent and the sky is the limit. Hinson even compared Heard to current Los Angeles Charger Tyreek Maddox-Williams, a former player of his at Timber Creek and Rutgers, who started off as a pass-rush specialist and developed into the total package.

“You looked at all his film (before this year), he was pass rush, pass rush, pass rush,” Hinson said of Heard. “He was able to make plays in the run game as well, but once you see him on the field, he has better awareness, football IQ than people realize. He’d go full pass rush, and it’s a screen and he recognized screen and redirect and make a tackle on a running back. … You know he’s going to get sacks, but when you start dissecting, diagnosing plays like that, it’s like, this is a special player.”

Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Camden's Heard is SJ High School Football Defensive Player of Year