Nice to meet you: PSU DT Judge Culpepper ready to see hard work pay off
The conversation went about like any would between new neighbors.
Penn State defensive tackle Judge Culpepper and his father, Brad, were on their dock just outside their home on Davis Islands in Tampa, spending some time on their boat. At the house next door, the new neighbor was doing the same, opening up an opportunity for a quick chat and introduction.
So, they did.
“I’ve talked to Tom from across our docks,” Culpepper said. “He just got a new boat, so, me and my dad were out there with our boat, and just, you know, talking about boats. So that was really cool.”
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Culpepper’s enthusiasm for the meeting had nothing to do with his love for boats, though.
The neighbor, “Tom,” also goes by “Tom Terrific” and is, in fact, new Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller and future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady. Renting the former mansion owned by New York Yankees Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter, Brady and his wife, Giselle, moved into the home in April.
Instantly, Culpepper’s months of COVID-19-induced quarantine were given a massive boost of intrigue. And that Culpepper is a Bucs fan, no less, made the new arrangement that much more fun.
“Yeah. (It’s) pretty crazy,” Culpepper said. “I mean, that's the greatest quarterback of all-time… it's nuts.”
Truth be told, though, Culpepper intends to make a footnote of the new neighbor when it comes to his 2020.
A rising redshirt sophomore ahead of the Nittany Lions’ season, Culpepper is hoping to break into the two-deep in the program’s always-competitive defensive tackles group. Having made the most of his time away from the Nittany Lions in March, April, May, and June, dedicating his time to working out with his brother, Syracuse quarterback Rex, the younger Culpepper appears poised to do exactly that.
Rotating with redshirt freshman Hakeem Beamon at the Nittany Lions’ three-technique defensive tackle position behind presumed starter P.J. Mustipher in the team’s August and September practices, Culpepper said he has already seen the effort pay dividends.
“I think I had a really productive spring as far as the weight room went. I really made a lot of gains,” Culpepper said. “I felt like come camp and when we really started to get going, it's going to show and I feel like it has already.”
According to Mustipher, it already has.
Building on a reputation as one of the team’s hardest workers, Culpepper has quickly put himself into a position to make an impact in his third season in the program.
Concentrating on improving his strength and speed, plus his get-off on the ball and violent hands, Culpepper now is listed at 6-foot-4, 281 pounds.
Needing to beat out Beamon for the opportunity to improve on his 92 total defensive reps over nine games last season, the result has been an intense competition that only figures to get more heated as the next few weeks lead into an Oct. 24 start to the Nittany Lions’ season at Indiana.
“We all know what's at stake, so we're all putting our best effort out there. But we're all friends. We're all trying to make each other better,” Culpepper said. “So I think we all understand that and we're all just working to be the best D-line that we could possibly be.”
Said by Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry to be “ready to play” this season thanks to his work ethic and physicality, the stage is set for Culpepper to make just such a move in the weeks and months to come.
“Judge comes into work every day and he puts his head down and he just works. He's not doing anything else. He's not interested in anything else but just getting better on the football field,” Mustipher said. “Judge is continuing to progress. I'm expecting big things for him. I know he's expecting even bigger things for himself.
“Judge has been putting his head down for these past couple years. I expect Judge to have a big year for us and we need him to inside. Judge is a workhorse.”
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