From Ice Cup to The Hope: How Sah'nye Degraffenreidt helped ignite Atlantic City football

Sah’nye Degraffenreidt was 15 years old, lined up against college football players.

That's plural.

Degraffenreidt was a rising sophomore at Atlantic City High School. It was a casual workout on the Vikings’ field during the summer of 2022.

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“He made a play where he jumped up in between (graduates Nahsir Morgan and Jamir Prevard), kids call it head tapping,” head coach Keenan Wright said. “He ain’t exactly head-tap ’em, but he went up and caught the ball.”

Prevard, who was an Associated Press First Team All-American cornerback at Delaware Valley the same fall Degraffenreidt was a freshman playing JV with the Vikings, turned toward Wright and smiled.

Degraffenreidt had been a running back throughout youth league football – ever since he picked up a punt and ran through the opposing team. He played around at receiver from time to time as coaches looked to get him involved, including his first year in Atlantic City.

The JV coach, Robert Newman, would send video clips to Wright of Degraffenreidt, like when he caught a pass between four Kingsway defenders.

“I was like, oh, OK,” Wright said.

This was different though. Degraffenreidt wasn’t standing out among JV kids. He went toe-to-toe with college players.

Wright knew then and there he was shifting Degraffenreidt to a full-time receiver role for the first time in his career.

The decision changed Degraffenreidt’s life and helped reinvigorate the Viking program.

Degraffrenreidt earned Courier-Post All-South Jersey First Team and USA TODAY NETWORK All-New Jersey Second Team honors last season with 51 catches for 894 yards and 11 touchdowns, a pair of pick-6’s, two kickoff return scores and a punt-return TD as Atlantic City went 7-3, won its first playoff game since 2012 and produced its first winning record since 2017.

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Degraffenreidt’s picked up 12 Division-I offers including Michigan, Penn State and South Carolina over the past 12 months, and he’s just getting started.

“He has no ceiling whatsoever,” Wright said. “He has raw talent that I’ve never really seen at this level.”

Degraffenreidt a highlight machine with levels still to jump

Degraffenreidt has already been on ESPN after making SportsCenter’s Top 10 for a one-handed grab against Holy Spirit on Thanksgiving last year.

However, the highlight shouldn’t have happened. Degraffenreidt ran the wrong route.

“It was supposed to be a comeback,” quarterback Joe Lyons said. “He doesn’t run the comeback at all. We have a comeback coming and a corner behind him. He just doesn’t run the comeback. He runs the go, runs into the guy running the corner with two other people around him. I’m running around at this point so I’m like alright, I’ll throw it up, and I’m like, what? How is that even possible?”

That was a weekly thought for players and coaches alike throughout last season.

Like in the team’s fourth game against Deptford. Degraffenreidt started the contest by breaking four tackles on a punt-return score, but it was a touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone that had the Vikings’ coaches looking at each other wondering if they saw what they really just saw.

“Joe threw a fade, but threw it inside,” Wright said. “You ever see a Euro step in basketball? (Degraffenreidt) jumped, but the (defender) is on his (inside), so he jumped off his (outside foot) because he knew he had to cross over. The other kid grabbed him, (tried) pulling him to the ground, tried to bat it down, (Degraffenreidt) jumped over him, jumped off one foot to jump inside to catch it.”

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“You can’t wait to watch the film,” Wright explained. “You can’t wait to see it later. That’s what it turned into.”

But, there’s much more to tap into.

“Like, 25 percent right now,” Degraffenreidt responded when asked how much of his potential he’s hit.

Wright agreed.

“If he takes the training to another level,” Wright said. “He trains, I’m talking training, training, becomes a student of the game versus, he needs to look at it like basketball. I got to do drills, I got to do this. Football is a little more natural to him, so it’s kind of like, eh. He works at it, but just the route running has gotten markedly better from last year. The tape, study it. Pick somebody like he did Odell Beckham making one-handed catches. Now look at Devonta Smith’s feet. Look at AJ Brown, how he uses his body, uses his frame. How he catches. Justin Jefferson, route running. There are models for him to study and to emulate.”

The challenge made Degraffenreidt take notice.

“I feel like I just got to work harder,” he said. “Tomorrow, you’ll all see a different person.”

For 'The City'

Atlantic City (3-0), No. 9 in the latest South Jersey Mean 15 rankings, hosts No. 2 Mainland (3-0) on Friday at 6 p.m. The game will likely decide the West Jersey Football League United Division championship.

The crowd is expected to be massive, especially considering how it looked against Absegami in the home opener last week.

“This place was packed,” Wright said. “I haven’t seen a concession stand like that since Thanksgiving games years ago. It was all the way to the track.”

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Fans want to see the Vikings. They want to see Degraffenreidt.

“I get stopped everywhere,” said Degraffenreidt, who already has 16 grabs for 375 yards and 6 touchdowns in three games this season. “Store, I get stopped. On the sidewalk playing, I get stopped. Walking around, just chilling, I get stopped. I go anywhere, on a walk, a walk on the Avenue, stopped. A lot of people, lot of different people, moms, dads, grandparents. Actually, my mom was at work and somebody was coming to see me and they didn’t know that was my mom. It was crazy.”

Degraffenreidt’s not looking for the attention though.

He likes watching his highlights during film reviews, but he’s not on social media blasting them out.

As Wright and Lyons effuse praise on him in the Atlantic City weight room, he keeps his head down. He shakes it when they offer a compliment. He speaks softly, barely audible at times.

He was nicknamed “Ice Cup” as a youngster when, one day, he was late to a little league game. He arrived on the sideline with a helmet in one hand and a water ice in the other.

That’s slowly morphed over time. Many refer to him as “Cup.” Lately, he’s been called “The Hope” and “Golden Boy.”

Wright hears fans throughout games shouting at him to call passes to “Cup.” Lyons is questioned after every contest why he didn’t throw the ball more Degraffenreidt’s way.

“He’s brought excitement to the area,” Wright said.

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Degraffenreidt takes that responsibility seriously.

“It’s pressure, but no pressure at the same time,” he said “I got a lot of dogs with me. I don’t feel the pressure is all on me. It’s on all of us. We in this together. Working together.

“I take it, but everything’s not on me, not for me.”

“You do it for who?” Wright asks Degraffenreidt.

“Do it for The City.”

Josh Friedman has produced award-winning South Jersey sports coverage for the Courier Post, The Daily Journal and the Burlington County Times for more than a decade. If you have or know of an interesting story to tell, reach out on Twitter at @JFriedman57 or via email at jfriedman2@gannettnj.com. You can also contact him at 856-486-2431. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Inside the rise of Atlantic City football star Sah'nye Degraffenreidt