Jaaqua Hunt, a longtime teacher, has a favorite saying that she shares with her students and with her son Jalyx, the third-year Eagles outside linebacker — “blossom where you’re planted.”
“You don’t have to originate in a place to become a part of that place,” she said. “So, take advantage of where you are.”
Jaaqua said it’s become clear that Jalyx is listening.
He isn’t native to Philadelphia. He was born in Memphis, Tenn., but he spent his adolescence in the Orlando, Fla., area, then moved with his family back to Tennessee, then to Maryland, then to South Carolina, then back to Florida.
In Philadelphia, though, Hunt has found a new home — and an extended family off the field.
Hunt has an older sister, Jessica, and what he calls a “whole bunch of little sisters” in the hundreds of students at Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls in the Hunting Park section of North Philadelphia. His relationship with the school began in 2024, the year the Eagles drafted him in the third round out of Houston Christian, when he started a fundraiser for underfunded school sports programs. Little Flower’s basketball team raised their hands.
Two years later, Hunt hasn’t forgotten about the students. On Tuesday afternoon in the school auditorium, he announced the establishment of three scholarships and an endowment to support the Little Flower students. One of the scholarships will cover two years of tuition, while two others will cover all four. The endowment will help generate interest to fund future scholarships.
The scholarships and the endowment have extra importance to Hunt. They’re each named after important women in his life — his mother, his sister, his grandmother, Alice, and his marketing manager and longtime friend, Rachel Booth. The initiative aims to honor the women who have made an impact in his life, all while uplifting the next generation.
“This is longevity,” Hunt said. “I’ve had a lot of talks with [Little Flower president Kristie] Dugan, and I just know that this is something that helps out a lot. A lot of people at this school require and need some sort of help to pay tuition, and if I can do that, I would love to do that.”
Getting involved with the Little Flower community has had a grounding effect on Hunt, which he said has been particularly important as he develops his sense of self as a player and as a person in Year 3 of his NFL career.
“Outside of football, I know that I need to do things that remind me of myself,” Hunt said. “And one thing is giving back.”
‘It makes our community feel seen’
Laniah Brooks, a 16-year-old junior at Little Flower, expected to have a typical school day Tuesday. She expected to attend her eight classes and go home in the afternoon.
But her sense of normalcy shifted when she was called into Dugan’s office during eighth period.
Dugan had told her father, Rodney, that Laniah was in consideration to receive a scholarship. They were to participate in an interview conducted by Little Flower staff. While Laniah and Rodney were sitting in an office, Hunt entered the room and surprised the Brooks family with the news that Laniah wasn’t in the running for the scholarship — she had already earned it.
“It just blew us away,” Rodney said. “It is one of the best days of my life.”
As a single father, Rodney said that without financial aid, affording tuition would be a hardship on him. The scholarship, which is named after Jaaqua, will cover the cost of Laniah’s junior and senior years at Little Flower.
For Laniah, the scholarship served as validation for her hard work in school. The fact that it came from Hunt — and that she got to spend time with him, discussing their shared love for anime — reminded her that her support system is bigger than she ever realized.
“In order to thrive, no matter who you are, even if you’re like peak smartness, everybody needs somebody there, because if not, you could just burn out or give up,” Laniah said. “I feel like no matter who you are, you need that support system, because if you fall, they’re going to be there for you.”
Hunt’s support of Little Flower began with the fundraiser in December 2024. Not only did Hunt donate a portion of the GoFundMe money to Little Flower’s basketball team, but he also visited the students and their parents in their gym. He shared advice about the importance of developing a sense of discipline as an athlete, at the request of head coach Jesse Morgan.
Hunt’s parents, Jaaqua and James, instilled the spirit of giving within him. Growing up, they would help out children in need, whether they were giving them a place to live in their own home or paying for their registration and equipment in youth sports.
Jalyx continued to follow their example, and not just financially. That winter, Hunt returned to Little Flower to watch a basketball game. Dugan recalled greeting him and former Eagles defensive end KJ Henry at the door to the gym. She offered them seats behind the team’s bench, where they could have more privacy.
Hunt declined and said he wanted to sit with the fans.
“I said, ‘OK, but I just need you to know, people know who you are, so people are going to talk to you,’” Dugan recalled. “‘People are going to approach you.’ And he said, ‘That’s OK.’ He said, ‘I’m here as a fan. I’m not here as a football player. I’m here as a fan of Little Flower, and I’m here to support these girls.’”
The girls have done the same for Hunt. After the Eagles won the Super Bowl that year, he returned to Little Flower for a pep rally they planned for him. They gave him a bouquet of roses, which are symbols associated with St. Thérèse, the namesake of Little Flower.
“I love coming back just because of the people that are here, and I don’t know what it is specifically that they do in the building to make the girls so authentic, so hardworking, but you can definitely see that in how they interact with you, how excited the girls are whenever you talk to them about their future, what they’re doing at the school, that they like the school,” Hunt said.
He wears his Little Flower sweatshirt with pride as he boards the Eagles bus to road games. He helped bring Kylie Kelce to the school to speak to students as part of their women in leadership series in April. He gave the school a shoutout during the first recording of his radio show on 94.1 WIP on Monday night.
“Beyond the donation coming to Little Flower, Jalyx investing in our school and in our girls, it makes our community feel seen and valued,” Dugan said.
‘I want to impact the world’
Hunt’s star has risen since he was a rookie standing in the Little Flower gym two years ago. Last season, he led the Eagles with 6½ sacks. Vic Fangio said at the outset of training camp that he’s looking for a big year from the 25-year-old outside linebacker.
Fangio said he believes Hunt is capable of it. His parents have been steadfast in their belief, too, as they watched their son go from Cornell safety to promising Eagles pass rusher in a span of six years.
“We’ve always told him that he would be in a place of greatness, and that with great placement and talent and skill comes a lot of responsibility,” Jaaqua said.
Hunt has learned that those responsibilities exist both on and off the field, and in some ways, they are intertwined. Going into his third year with the Eagles, he said he has a better understanding of how to set himself up for success on the field. He has heeded Nick Sirianni’s advice of falling in love with the process, not necessarily the result. Hunt has perfected his routine throughout the week and has identified the details he must hone in on in practice and during film study to prepare himself for game day.
Becoming a more intentional player on the field has allowed him to become a more intentional person off it, he said.
When he entered the NFL, Hunt acknowledged that the celebrity associated with his job was something he fought. But he came to realize that his humility was getting in the way of the reality that he had become a public figure.
Hunt expressed an understanding that he has a responsibility to use his platform for good. He wants to do it in a way that is true to himself, and his increasing support of Little Flower is part of that effort.
“I could just be one of those people who’s in the house all the time, which is no problem,” Hunt said. “If that’s what you want to do, that’s what you want to do. But it’s not what I want to do. I want to get out. I want to meet people. I want to impact the world. I want to impact those around me, who pour into me.”
Hunt is trying to heed his mother’s advice of blossoming where he is planted. Jaaqua is already seeing the fruits of his efforts.
“He’s matured and has grown significantly just in his time there,” Jaaqua said. “And a lot of times when you experience that type of growth in an area, you kind of get rooted because that’s where the growth took place.
“So he’s blossoming, as a player for sure. But more importantly to me as a person, as a man.”
