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In seventh grade, childhood best friends Jaeden Gould and Jayden Bellamy played Pop Warner football together in Somerset (N.J.). Their future Bergen Catholic (N.J.) High School coach, Vito Campanile, attended one of their games. In 24 years of coaching, Campanile said he’s never seen a more dominant Pop Warner team.

At the time, both played two ways and were the best athletes on the field, Campanile said. But Gould stood above. He scored multiple touchdowns and the game had to be stopped in the third quarter with the score 42-0.

“I knew he was going to play at the next level that day in seventh grade,” Campanile said. “I know that sounds crazy, but when I started coaching, I would say that summer he came to our camp and just his eye contact and his coachability (made it obvious).”

From then on, Gould set the standard at Bergen Catholic. The former four-star recruit accumulated 38 Division I offers as a defensive back and is one of the five highest-ranked recruits on Syracuse in 2023, according to On3.

“I use (Gould) as the example here and the standard here now all the time,” Campanile said. “Just the most professional approach to football that you could find in a kid really… I think so much of the fabric and culture of Bergen Catholic today really was set forth by Jaeden Gould.”

This year, Gould is reunited with Bellamy as both transferred to SU from Nebraska and Notre Dame, respectively. The two star side-by-side in the Orange’s secondary, two years after they won the New Jersey State Championship.

Bellamy and Gould’s fathers, Jay Bellamy and Scott Gould, have known each other since they were 17 after playing in the same 1989 New Jersey Senior All-Star game. They played and roomed together at Rutgers the next year, and quickly became close. Their kids have been best friends since they were in diapers.

Once Gould and Bellamy got to high school, they were no longer teammates. Bellamy chose to attend St. John Vianney (N.J.), playing there through his sophomore year. Then, he joined Gould at Bergen Catholic.

Their first practice was electric. The pair made play after play, silently communicating while flying around the field. Though Gould lived more than an hour away from school, he loved competing with Bellamy and didn’t mind the trek.

“It’s probably the most positive form of competition I’ve seen between teammates,” Campanile said. “Just a crazy professional approach to football and they were great.”

After every practice, they’d sit on the end of the benches, just to talk, despite spending the entirety of most days together.

“I’d say they were like two old men, like they should be at a fishing hole or something,” Campanile said. “I can almost still see them there. They were a fixture, there should be a statue of those two dudes.”

The “icing on the cake,” according to Scott, was Gould and Bellamy’s senior season. Bergen Catholic went undefeated and won the New Jersey State Championship. Gould was named the 2021 New Jersey Player of the Year by MaxPreps. During the state championship, Gould “sliced (a receiver) in half,” while Bellamy took a short pass into a long touchdown. They finished as the No. 3-ranked team in the nation.

“For me to share that with his dad and his family because everyone’s been around each other forever, so it was just the culmination of everything,” Scott said. “They know how to win. When they’re on the field together, things just happen.”

After his senior season, Gould committed to USC in December 2021 while Bellamy chose Notre Dame. Gould had developed a strong relationship with interim head coach Donte Williams, who also coached defensive backs.

But then, USC hired Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma. Changes were made and the staff wasn’t 100% committed to Gould during a program rehaul, Campanile said.




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It was either a new start at USC or go elsewhere, Scott said. He wanted to have an established relationship with his future coach, so he decommitted from the Trojans and chose Nebraska not two weeks later. Scott said his son’s relationship with its then-head coach, Scott Frost, played a major role in his choice.

Then, déjà vu struck. In the middle of last season, Frost was let go, along with most of the coaching staff. Former Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule was signed to a lucrative deal, and Gould was back at square one. After one season, he entered the transfer portal. Bellamy joined him too after never seeing the field as a freshman with the Fighting Irish.

Gould said Syracuse was at Bergen Catholic trying to recruit him the day after he decommitted from Nebraska. So, when he entered the portal, he remembered its interest. Gould also had an established relationship in high school with Nick Monroe, SU’s former cornerbacks coach, which he said impacted the decision.

Gould and Bellamy took their official visit together and, after talking it through, both committed to Syracuse. A few days later, Monroe left for Minnesota and Gould’s DB coach at Nebraska, Travis Fisher, was hired to replace him.

“We just looked at everything, mapped everything out and felt like it was the best place for both of us and we made that decision,” Gould said.

This time, Gould didn’t waiver. He was devoted to Syracuse and to Bellamy. His main priority was to go somewhere that would allow him to make an immediate impact, and SU gave that to him. He’s played in all nine games so far, totaling 15 tackles and one interception.

“I’m forever blessed for getting to play high school football with my best friend and end up going to the same college,” Gould said. “That’s kind of something that’s unheard of, like a movie or story or something. It’s really great. I know where he’s going to be, he knows where I’m going to be, just that level of trust.”

Campanile said, in talking to both, Gould and Bellamy reuniting was “the deciding factor” in their mutual commitment to SU. Scott described their chemistry as a “winning mojo.”

“The more moments they get, the more moments they’re going to make,” Scott said. “I can guarantee you that.”

Published on November 9, 2023 at 1:01 am

Contact Wyatt: wbmiller@syr.edu