Categories
Hodgson, Rutgers football standout Jamil Merrell dies at age 36
Hodgson, Rutgers football standout Jamil Merrell dies at age 36
Brandon Holveck, Delaware News JournalThu, Jul 9, 2026·8 min readIn his final moments of life, Jamil Merrell wrote a letter to the members of the Red Lion Christian football team he planned to guide through the fall as defensive coordinator.
"Most importantly, love this game with everything you have," Merrell wrote. "Because life can change in an instant, and opportunities are never promised tomorrow. Cherish every practice, every game, every teammate, every laugh, and every memory you make together."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFew cherished the game of football like Merrell, who impacted countless athletes across Delaware as a coach and personal trainer over the past decade. He demanded the best of others while leaning on the experience gained from a standout playing career at Hodgson and Rutgers.
Merrell died on July 7 at age 36.
"He loved with his whole heart," his twin brother, Jamal, wrote. "He kept it real no matter who you were. He would give you the shirt off his back, tell you the truth even when it was hard to hear, and stand beside the people he loved no matter what. He didn’t just live life, he poured every ounce of himself into it."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"You meet very few people in your life that are just pure meat on the bone," Red Lion Christian football head coach Ken Anderson said. "Just an expert in his craft and how he communicated that to the kids, with love but with discipline."
At Hodgson, Jamil and Jamal led the Silver Eagles to their first football state championship, defeating Caravel 24-16 for the Division II title in 2007, their junior year. Hodgson was the first Delaware high school team to finish a season 13-0.
Jamil was picked as the Delaware Lineman of the Year, in addition to garnering first team All-State honors at defensive end and tight end. Jamal was a first team defensive back and second team wide receiver.
"They were icons," said Frank Moffett Jr., Hodgson's head coach from 2003-22. "People looked up to them."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe following year, as a senior, Jamil repeated as a first team defensive end and earned second-team honors at tight end as Hodgson finished 7-3. He was named the top lineman of the Blue-Gold All-Star Game, won by the northern Blue team 12-0.
Dave Collins, Hodgson's current football head coach and athletic director, was special teams coordinator when the Merrells entered Hodgson then became offensive coordinator in 2006. He has also worked with the team's defensive linemen throughout most of his coaching career.
He remembers Jamil cracking several helmets, his own and others, in games and in practice. Jamil was one of the few players Moffett had to ask to ease up in practice for fear of delivering concussions to his teammates. Other times the coaching staff would pull him entirely, Collins said, to give the offense a chance to get going.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"He was shutting down the whole offense himself," Collins said.
Hodgson went on to win D-II titles in 2013 and 2014 and the Division I title in 2019. Collins called Jamil the "most tenacious, intense, hard-working player" to come through the program.
"He was an alpha," Collins said.
Collins still remembers the first play from scrimmage in the 2007 D-II title game against Caravel. The Buccaneers broke a sweep down the sideline opposite Jamil. The running back had a clear lane for an 80-yard touchdown. Jamil crossed the field and tracked him down. The Silver Eagles held Caravel scoreless on the possession.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Just that one single play demonstrates the kind of effort he brought on the field," Collins said.
The Merrells were also leaders of Hodgson's boys basketball team. Jamil would tell Moffett, "Football is my job. Basketball is my hobby."
"He was pretty good at his hobby, too," Moffett said.
As college recruiting began, Jamil and Jamal decided they would go to the same school. Rutgers secured the commitment of Caesar Rodney standout and future NFL safety Duron Harmon. The Merrells followed, picking the Scarlet Knights from more than a dozen scholarship offers.
When he watched Jamil and Jamal on tape, Rutgers recruiting coordinator Joe Susan found it obvious they were talented enough to play in college. As he got to know them in the recruiting process, it became clear they would be a match for the culture Rutgers wanted to create, too.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSusan said Jamil held up well inserted as the scout team defensive end as a freshman, going up against offensive linemen four or five years older. Both Jamal and Jamil got their first extended run as sophomores in 2011. The Scarlet Knights finished 9-4 and won the Pinstripe Bowl over Iowa State at Yankee Stadium.
The following week, Jamil was in the weight room at Hodgson. Moffett asked him why he wasn't taking a break.
"I ain't got time to take a break because someone is trying to get my position," Moffett recalled Jamil replying.
As seniors, Jamal and Jamil were elected team captains by their teammates. They were the second brother duo and the first in 120 years to captain the Rutgers football team.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRutgers went 15-11 over the final two seasons of their college careers. Jamil appeared in 34 career games with 18 starts and amassed 81 tackles, 8.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss.
Both undrafted in 2014, Jamil signed with the Chicago Bears and Jamal signed with the Tennessee Titans.
The Bears added Jamil to their practice squad in November of that year. He later appeared in the Arena Football League.
When Anderson became Red Lion's head coach in 2018, his first call outside his family was to Jamil. They had met a few years earlier. Anderson described Jamil as a "great physical specimen" and himself at the time as an "old fat guy."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"We were kind of like the odd couple," he said. "We meshed right away. It was a real good bond."
Jamil coached four seasons at Red Lion. He helped lay the foundation for Red Lion's first football state championship last year. Red Lion defeated Indian River 22-21 in double overtime to win the Class 2A title.
Jamil was excited to return to the team as defensive coordinator in February – the last six months have been "filled with football," Anderson said.
He traveled with Red Lion to Penn State, where in a 7-on-7 tournament Red Lion went 6-0 to win its bracket. He also with the team returned to Rutgers.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Seeing him at Rutgers, it was kind of exhilarating," Anderson said. "All of the coaches hugged him. … He was just the man up there."
Susan didn't immediately recognize a man that came up to him and hugged him at the 7-on-7 tournament. Jamil was much skinnier than the thick defensive lineman Susan remembered.
"But he was full of life, full of vigor," Susan said. "He thanked me for what I did for them. I echoed the thanks because it's as much about what players do for us as coaches."
In addition to coaching at Red Lion, Jamil trained athletes in football and other sports from Delaware and nearby areas. A mantra became his training brand, "It's just work."
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe most prominent athlete Jamil worked with was Bilal Nichols, an eight-year NFL veteran defensive tackle who attended Hodgson and the University of Delaware.
Nichols was 14 when he met Jamil. The Merrells were inspirations, showing it was possible to play high-level Division I football out of Hodgson.
Nichols had less acclaim leaving Hodgson than Jamil did – his only football scholarship offer came from Delaware. But he molded himself into an All-American and NFL prospect through four years with the Blue Hens.
When Nichols started training for the NFL Draft after the 2017 season, Jamil had just wrapped up his professional career. He was starting the next chapter of his life as a trainer and Nichols needed someone to work out with.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSince the first day they took the field together, Nichols hasn't worked with anyone else.
"He was a dude who was so selfless," Nichols said. "He constantly poured into me."
The Chicago Bears drafted Nichols in the fifth round in 2018. He played four seasons in Chicago before spending two years with the Las Vegas Raiders and the last two years with the Arizona Cardinals.
Nichols returned to his Middletown home every offseason. He and Jamil outfit it with a weight room, recovery room and a field in the backyard. They worked out together almost every day. One offseason they calculated they spent 380 hours – that's more than two weeks – together. Jamil's son, Jamil Jr., became friends with Nichols' children.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJamil handled everything from pre-workout injury maintenance routines to manual massage therapy and other recovery tools. And, of course, the workouts. He didn't just watch. He poured sweat keeping pace with an NFL defensive lineman every day.
"He never wanted me to feel alone," Nichols said.
"His purpose was to help others. That's the only way I could put it. That was his main purpose. We had a special bond. It was never about the money. ... He wanted to see me win. That's all he cared about."
A whiteboard in Nichols' home gym still has the last workout he did with Jamil, in Jamil's handwriting. Nichols said he will never erase it.
Jamil and Jamal's first coach was their father, Benny. They started at eight years old in New Castle.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBenny focused on principles over plays: trust, belief and accountability.
Jamil built from that foundation everywhere he went, from invigorating Hodgson football to captaining Rutgers and coaching youth athletes. In his last days, he recognized that he had helped thousands and said that everything he was meant to accomplish was complete, Jamal said.
"My brother was literally the best man I knew," Jamal said.
Family of Jamil started a GoFundMe fundraiser to support his son, Jamil Merrell Jr.
Brandon Holveck reports on high school sports for The News Journal. Contact him at bholveck@delawareonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Hodgson, Rutgers football standout Jamil Merrell dies at age 36