Heart Over Height: How ShunDerrick Powell Made It to the Eagles

According to the NFL Players Association, the chances of any high school football player making it to the NFL are roughly 0.2%. Those odds are even slimmer when you’re a 5’7” running back from a small town with a population just over 1,000 people. Yet that’s exactly what ShunDerrick Powell has accomplished.

Powell’s story began in Hughes, Arkansas, where he spent the first 12 years of his life and fell in love with the game of football. Despite living in a small town, Powell had big dreams, which he eventually revealed to his parents.

“I told my parents that it was my dream to get to the NFL,” Powell said. “To play in the NFL and take care of them, and not only just to get to the NFL, to try and be the best.”

Powell moved to Jonesboro, Arkansas around 12-years old and remained in the city until his sophomore year of high school. Yet Powell’s dreams of reaching the NFL were temporarily put on hold as he began to question his future as a football player.

“I actually wanted to quit football my tenth grade year,” Powell said. “I didn’t want to play anymore, I didn’t feel like I was getting an opportunity on the field. So I told my dad I just didn’t want to play anymore.”

“But my dad didn’t quit on me. He told me he didn’t want me to quit. He gave me this speech on how I could become a great player. I wasn’t listening at first but I stuck with it.”

Thanks to his father’s impassioned speech, Powell continued to play football and would take a huge step forward during his junior year of high school. Powell’s family moved once again, this time to Hoxie, Arkansas, where he enrolled at Hoxie High School.

Powell forged an unbreakable relationship with Tom Sears, the head coach of the football team at Hoxie High School. Sears showed the belief and trust in Powell that he was previously seeking on the football field. Powell took hold of the opportunity presented to him and ran away with it, both literally and figuratively.

“Ever since I got to Hoxie, it’s been straight history,” Powell said. “My eleventh grade year, I broke records. My twelfth grade year, I broke records and I had a great time. I wish I could do it all over again.”

Powell set a school record by recording for 350 rushing yards in a single game. While Powell starred as Hoxie’s running back, he also played alongside his brother, who was the team’s starting quarterback. The dynamic Powell duo led the team to a 22-4 record in two seasons at Hoxie High School.

A Father’s Dream Come True

ShunDerrick’s father always dreamed of his boys playing together in college and that’s exactly what they did. They both committed to the University of North Alabama, as the former Hoxie Mustangs planted their roots at a new school.

Yet Powell’s collegiate career didn’t get off to the start that he expected. Powell recorded just 30 carries for 154 yards during his first season at North Alabama. Yet following changes to the coaching staff heading into his second season at North Alabama, Powell was able to reach new heights in 2022.

Thanks to the arrival of offensive coordinator Ryan Held and running backs coach Trey Porter, Powell showcased his true potential. Powell recorded 221 carries for 1,513 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. He also hauled in 24 receptions for 242 receiving yards through the air.

Despite Powell’s elite production in 2022, North Alabama fired their entire coaching staff and moved in a different direction. Following the departure of the coaching staff that believed in him, Powell decided it was time to enter the transfer portal.

Following his 1,500-yard rushing performance, Powell was a target for several top schools in the transfer portal. Powell received gaudy offers from multiple schools, including Arkansas, Memphis and Kansas State. Yet Powell wasn’t worried about the money, he wanted the best fit for himself, both on and off the football field.

Powell and his fiancé were expecting the birth of their first child together and it was important to move into the right situation. Central Arkansas would allow Powell to remain close to his parents, while the school was willing to accommodate his son. Yet Powell would also forge an unexpected bond with a member of Central Arkansas’ coaching staff.

“It was never about the money to me,” Powell said. “I didn’t want all that money in college because it didn’t matter to me. I just loved the game of football. There was something about Central Arkansas but really Nelson Gunnell, man.”

Gunnell was the running backs coach at Central Arkansas, yet he quickly grew into much more than that for Powell. After Powell’s brother was shot 14 times, Gunnell was there for ShunDerrick when he needed it most.

“He’s more like an older brother to me,” Powell said. “He took care of me. When I was depressed when my brother got shot 14 times, he was there for me. Nobody knew that I was depressed but him.”

“I would go to practice with a smile on my face. I still played the same way. But nobody knew that I was talking to him crying at night with him. Nobody knew that. I talk to this guy everyday man, he’s like a real older brother to me…if it wasn’t for him, I don’t know where I would have went.”

While Gunnell was there for Powell off the field when he needed him most, the rising star running back honored his position coach with huge performances on the field. Powell recorded 299 carries for 2,350 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns during his two seasons at Central Arkansas.

The Pre-Draft Process

Following a successful career at Central Arkansas, it was time for Powell to continue chasing his childhood dream of reaching the NFL. Powell accepted an invite to the 2025 Hula Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The pre-draft event was the first time that Powell met with the Philadelphia Eagles, as the franchise spoke with him multiple times at the Hula Bowl.

Powell recalled that the Eagles staff members stated that they weren’t scared off by his perceived lack of size, highlighting the franchise’s success with “smaller” running backs. Philadelphia’s staff told Powell that he reminded them of Darren Sproles, Boston Scott and Kenny Gainwell in certain ways.

Following the Hula Bowl, Powell trained in Florida to prepare for his pro day at Central Arkansas. Unfortunately, he suffered a torn quad while training several weeks before his pro day, which wasn’t public knowledge at the time.

Despite the injury, Powell’s agent believed that he should still participate at Central Arkansas pro day. While Powell measured in at just 5’7” and 183 lbs., he was somehow still able to showcase his strength and explosiveness in spite of battling through a torn quad.

Powell ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash, posted a 40.5” vertical jump and had 21 reps of 225 lbs. in the bench press. While those marks are still impressive, Powell said they are far from his true athleticism. Prior to suffering the quad injury, Powell stated that he ran a 4.2 in the 40-yard dash and recorded a vertical jump of 44” during training.

After speaking with Powell at the Hula Bowl, the Eagles were also in attendance at Central Arkansas pro day. Despite the questions about Powell’s size and coming from a smaller school, Philadelphia maintained a high level of interest in him throughout the entire pre-draft process.

While Powell ultimately didn’t hear his name announced as a draft pick during the 2025 NFL Draft, he did receive a ton of phone calls during day three of the event as teams were interested in signing him as an undrafted free agent. The Eagles were actually the first team to call Powell and offer him a contract.

“When the draft was almost over, the Philadelphia Eagles were the first team to call me,” Powell said. “They were the first team that gave my agent an offer and I said ‘okay, lock it in,’ I wanted to be safe and make sure that I was going to have a chance to make a roster.”

“There were a bunch of other teams after the draft that were calling…Philly was the first team and they stuck with me so I’m going to stick with them.”

Welcome to the City of Brotherly Love

Powell started his football journey in Hughes, Arkansas, a small town with an estimated population of just 1,056 people. After signing as an undrafted free agent with the Eagles, Powell is now playing in the City of Brotherly Love with an estimated population of 1.6 million people. It’s safe to say that Powell was a bit surprised when he first arrived in Philadelphia.

“Man, I was amazed,” Powell said. “I was like ‘bro, I don’t know how I’m going to drive around here,’ I think I’m just going to get an Uber. The traffic is crazy!”

“It’s a big city so I’m just going to try to make myself go out and learn places. But I’m a homebody, I like staying in the house. But I’m just going to try and learn the city the best that I can.”

After getting over the initial culture shock of landing in a massive city, Powell was ready to hit the practice field at the NovaCare Complex. Following rookie minicamp, Powell was able to join the rest of the team for OTAs, including working alongside the best running back in the NFL, Saquon Barkley.

“It’s a blessing. He’s a real leader,” Powell said about Barkley. “He gave me his number, I can call him anytime I want to if I need any help. He’s a great guy. I want to learn as much knowledge as I can and as much about football as I can from him.”

Powell praised Barkley for his leadership and also discussed the memorable backwards hurdle play from last season. While Powell was quick to call Barkley a freak athlete, I had to remind the Eagles rookie running back of his viral video where he was able to split squat 495 lbs.

“I don’t think he knows that just yet,” Powell jokingly said when asked if Barkley knows about his weight lifting ability. “But if it comes across and he wants to squat, I’m going to give him a challenge. I’m going to let him know ‘I can squat just as much as you, Saquon,’ but I don’t think he knows just yet.”

While Powell hasn’t issued a challenge to Barkley just yet, he is ready to embrace the other obstacles that lie ahead of him in the NFL. Powell has already surpassed all of the odds that he has faced along the way as an undersized running back from a small town.

Now he is eager to prove himself to the City of Brotherly Love and showcase his abilities at the next level. Similar to former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, Powell understands that he needs to give Philadelphia’s fans something to cheer about and earn their respect.

“I’m an action type of guy,” Powell said. “I like to go out there and show you more than talk about it because words don’t mean nothing.”

Powell’s actions are exactly why he has reached the NFL. Despite others trying to doubt him with their words, his actions have done the talking for him. Now it’s time for Powell to let his actions speak louder than words once again as he pushes for a spot on the Eagles.