With Tom Brady as his neighbor, Penn State football’s Judge Culpepper is used to the atypical
Judge Culpepper’s childhood was far from usual, with both of his parents appearing on “Survivor” and his father playing in the National Football League. The Penn State defensive tackle got to see his family on TV shows when he was in high school, but they were far from the most famous people he’d interacted with.
Brad, Judge’s dad, is in the University of Florida’s Athletic Hall of Fame and was named a consensus first team All-American as a Gator in 1991. He brought Judge around former All-Pros like John Lynch and Mike Alstott after his retirement.
The oddities of Culpepper’s childhood didn’t end off the field. They managed to seep into his football career that seemed destined for him to end up at the University of Florida.
He played quarterback during his freshman and sophomore years of high school before transforming into the hulking 6-foot-4, 294-pound defensive tackle he is now, then bypassed his parents’ — and grandfather’s — alma mater to go to Penn State.
Judge’s decision was met with some backlash from the community but came with the full support of his dad.
“My dad was like, ‘Man it’s a no-brainer. If I were you I’d go to Penn State,’” Judge told the media Tuesday afternoon. “There was a little bit of pressure and there were definitely some pissed off Florida fans from where I’m from in Tampa. Honestly it was worth it. I’m glad I made that decision.”
The decision Judge made and the eccentricities that consumed his childhood pale in comparison to the atypical neighbors he had.
The Culpeppers spent time living next to 14-time all-star, 5-time World Series champion, 2000 World Series MVP and Baseball Hall-of-Famer Derek Jeter in their neighborhood outside Tampa. Jeter, who Judge said he had the chance to meet, eventually moved and has been replaced by another icon in the sports world.
This time the Culpeppers became neighbors with six-time Super Bowl champion, four-time Super Bowl MVP, three-time NFL MVP and surefire future hall of fame quarterback Tom Brady, who moved to the neighborhood in Tampa when he signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“It’s kind of insane,” Judge said. “No one really believes me and I’m okay with that. They can come visit and see for themselves.”
Judge said the first few days were a whirlwind with media and community members driving by just to get a peak at the city’s new starting quarterback.
“It was honestly crazy the first couple days,” he said. “There was like a million people driving by and like news people (coming by). We just kind of laid low and didn’t really want to impede on Tom Brady’s privacy. That’s kind of been our deal with it.”
With Judge home in Florida during the quarantine, he had the opportunity to speak with his new neighbor — even if it was just momentary.
“I waved across our docks,” Judge said. “He was on his dock and I was on my dock. My dad and I were out there and he was talking to us about stuff. That’s about as close as we’ve gotten.”
Now back in State College away from his famous neighbors, Judge is preparing for a season that will be just as unusual as his life experiences. For now, he’s found comfort in some of the small pieces of normalcy on campus.
“Honestly it feels like there isn’t much that’s changed, as far as the work,” he said. “It’s been pretty great.”
This story was originally published July 21, 2020 at 5:01 PM.
