There are 16 state-championship trophies in the case at Glassboro High School, and Xavier Sabb helped earn two of them. That should afford him immortal status at the school, no small accomplishment, considering the Bulldogs produced two players who have won Super Bowls, a two-time Heisman Memorial Trophy top-five vote getter, and dozens of college players.
But Sabb belongs in that legendary lineup with Super Bowl champs Gary Brackett and Corey Clement and Heisman finalist Gordie Lockbaum. You better believe he does.
The senior is versatile enough to have played a bunch of different positions at Glassboro and is so good returning punts and kickoffs that rivals simply kick the ball out of bounds rather than let him get loose. “I tell coaches, ‘Just give me one,’” he says. Next season, he will play at Big Ten powerhouse Oregon, which won a national recruiting battle against just about every college-football heavyweight.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Sabb is that he might not even be the best athlete in his family. His two brothers, Keon and Amari, are both playing football at Alabama, and his sister, Naiyana, played hoops at Holy Family University in Philadelphia.
“Everything was competitive with us, whether it was football, basketball or who could get to the car first,” Xavier says.
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Sabb plays at Glassboro for his uncle, coach Timothy Breaker, and he has lined up as receiver, safety, running back and even quarterback. He was named the 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year for New Jersey and began this fall as a top-20, five-star prospect, according to ESPN. Want more? He’s also an A-minus student and a volunteer youth-football coach.
He could have gone to one of the powerhouse high schools all over the region and country —and they sure wanted him, according to Breaker—but he chose to stay in his hometown to win championships with the friends he made while playing youth ball. As a result, Sabb is respected by coaches and teammates alike.
“He’s everything you want in a leader,” Breaker says. “He does it in the classroom and on the field. He’s a fun kid who enjoys life. He has a great day every day. You never see him mad. He smiles all the time.”
Not too many rivals grin when he’s on the field, and most are happy Glassboro moved up to the Group 2 state-football classification this season. “I’m not unhappy about not having to play Glassboro again,” says Kevin Leamy, head coach at Schalick High School, which faced the Bulldogs—and lost—four times in the last two seasons.
Sabb has a strong, 6-foot, 180-pound frame. “He passes the eye test,” says Burlington City head coach Kadin Booker. He’s an excellent receiver and practically impossible to snare when he turns upfield after a catch. Defensively, he can shut off half the field with his ability to cover ground and break up passes. He is listed as an athlete in the recruiting rankings, but he might as well be labeled a phenomenon. Breaker describes Keon Sabb as “a perfectionist,” says Amari is “a firecracker,” and considers Xavier “a little of both.”
“He’s one of those guys who could play almost any skill position on the field,” says ESPN’s national recruiting director, lead ACC Network analyst Tom Luginbill.
Luginbill helps operate UC (underclassmen) Football Camps, which bring together dozens of the nation’s best high school players each summer. When Sabb attended, he not only ran a blazing, 4.49 40-yard dash time; he also was voted a captain by his teammates. When a running back got injured, Sabb stepped in. “He’s an athlete,” Luginbill says. “He’ll go where you put him.”
In their four games against Glassboro, Leamy’s Schalick kickers and punters directed the ball to Sabb once—by accident. It was during last November’s South Jersey Group 1 championship game, and Sabb took a punt back for a touchdown. Fortunately for Leamy’s squad, a “completely unnecessary” block in the back penalty wiped out the score.
Sabb is so good that opposing coaches spend significant time preparing just for him on both sides of the ball. “Even if he doesn’t get the ball, you have to account for him,” says Booker, whose team also lost to the Bulldogs four times in the last two years.
For all of Sabb’s success and the attention he receives, he is not at all cocky. Booker says, “He is wise beyond his years.” Leamy says, “He isn’t flashy.” That might explain why his hobbies are not like those of typical high school kids—playing video games or just hanging out. Nope. He likes bowling and fishing. How old is he anyway, 40?
“There are a couple lakes around my development where I cast for bass,” he says.
Breaker laughs when asked about Sabb’s other sporting pursuits. He understands they are different. But Sabb doesn’t bowl or fish just to relax. He wants to succeed. “Anything that’s competitive, he loves it,” Breaker says.
His NFL aspirations are very much alive, and playing at Oregon is a great next step. He chose the Ducks because of the “great chemistry” he developed with the staff. He will graduate early from Glassboro and enroll at University of Oregon in January.
When Sabb heads to Eugene, he’ll bring a rare package of talent, smarts, maturity and humility. It’s hard to imagine he won’t succeed. But he will always be a kid from Glassboro.
“You’ve got to have somewhere to come back to when you make it,” he says.
And Sabb has everything necessary to make it.
