Rookie linebacker Maema Njongmeta, the NFL's preseason co-leading tackler, is staring at a possible Opening Day spot when he takes the Paycor Stadium field Thursday (8 p.m.-Prime Video) in the Bengals' preseason finale against the Colts.

And Cam Green needs to button up his letter jacket.

"It gives me chills," Green said. "It's just a testament to the hard work and everything else he's put into it."

It was not only Green's Adlai E. Stevenson High School letter jacket that lured Njongmeta to football all those years ago, but the kid who wore it. Towering with kindness, Green paid attention and made a difference.

"He was one of the star football players, and he was wearing this letter jacket and I thought he was the coolest dude ever," Njongmeta said. "I wanted to be just like him."

That was when Njongmeta, a scrawny eighth-grader, had been playing everything but football. Baseball. Basketball. Tae-kwon-do. "A gym class hero," he called himself. The 6-3, 250-pound Green, one of the top players in metro Chicago destined for a full ride next door at Northwestern, thought Njongmeta was barely five feet. But the kid was now hooked and wanted to try football.

In a few years, Green, the Wildcats' prized SuperBack on offense, would be wondering how in the heck he would block him.

They met at a middle school symposium, where the Stevenson football players went back to visit teachers and talk to the kids. Green was in the art class, and so was this "nice little kid."

"He came up to me. 'What's up? It's good to meet you,'" Green said. "Always mature. As time would go on, he would come to the varsity games, and he was wearing his little league jersey, and he was just getting bigger and bigger. Now look at him. He's six feet and jacked. A true athlete."

Still not tall enough for Northwestern or Illinois. Brian Burja, Njongmeta's high school linebackers coach and defensive coordinator, tried to tell them he was the most productive linebacker in the state at 6-0, about 225 pounds. Nope, they said. Had to be 6-2, 6-3. Too bad, Burja thought to himself. That's how Njongmeta ended up at Wisconsin with 154 tackles during the last two seasons.

Even the Badgers were concerned about his rating. Was he a Two Star? Three Star? Depended on the source.

"He'll be your team captain by his senior year. He's not going to jump into the transfer portal," Josh Hjorth, his head coach at Stevenson, told the Wisconsin coaches.

"That's exactly how it played out," Hjorth said.

Of course, not before his 4.0 GPA broke the heart of the Yale recruiter.

"He wanted the big schools," Hjorth said. "And he's the kind of guy who could make it happen. He's going to do great things in whatever he does. But hopefully not for a long time. He says he wants to give this a try for as long as he can."

The product of parents who lead the league in Ph.Ds., Njongmeta settled on Madison largely for the big time, but also partly for his studies: He sailed to four straight Academic All-Big Ten teams majoring in business.

The business of making a football player also turned out to be one long, joyous class.

"You love coaching guys like that," Hjorth said.

Hjorth can still remember Njongmeta unable to put on his helmet when he showed up his freshman year. By the time he figured it out, the coaches knew they had somebody who could be special because he was so explosive in the weight room.

"He blocked a punt for a safety," Burja said, "and his teammates were celebrating. He didn't know what it was."

By the next year, Njongmeta was coming into Burja's office asking him to go through the sophomore game tape. Hjorth was throwing him out of the weight room. By his senior year, he was one of the team leaders, helping drive the young guys to those workouts through the early-morning Chicago glaciers. During the team's homeless drive his senior year, they set a record collecting toothpaste, socks and clothes.

"He's never going run a 4.4 40. He's never going to put the largest weight on," Hjorth said. "But he'll learn and study and trust his instincts more than anyone I've ever coached. It's a very, very special thing to watch."

Funny how it all works out. Njongmeta, naturally, wanted to follow Cameron Green to Northwestern. But it took a Northwestern guy, Bengals scout Christian Sarkisian, to begin the trail that brought him to Cincinnati as an undrafted free agent.

Sarkisian's introductory notes included how instinctive he is chasing plays to go with his power at the point and the ability to shed blockers. He also knew last season Njongmeta was adjusting to more weight in new head coach Luke Fickell's drastically different defensive scheme. He ran better at his pro day than at the combine.

It came down to how fast he played. The Bengals personnel people and their coaches concluded a lot faster than a 4.8 40. Now, 17 tackles and two games later, he's got a great shot to be the Bengals' fifth and last linebacker as they head into the preseason's last hour.

"I would not be surprised at all," Green said. "He's definitely a player who was overlooked when it came to the draft. But once you realize the kind of guy that he is within that position room, you realize that he is very valuable not only on the field, but also off the field.

"He's very smart. He studies his opponent. From high school, he's always been a leader of the team. He plays with great instincts. Plays on his toes, Very fast- paced. Nerve-wracking as an offensive player, but as a fan he's really fun to watch."

Green, who now works for the wealth management firm Summit Trail Advisors, never ended up playing against Njongmeta. But he still keeps in touch with him. He couldn't help but follow him since that day at the middle school.

"He smiled from ear-to-ear," Green said. "He's got this confidence within him people wouldn't know unless you talk to him. He smiles at you when he speaks."

Green admits he doesn't start following the NFL until the regular season, but his letter jacket has certainly impacted a preseason.

"It's an honor to get a little bit of credit for him to be where he is today," said Cam Green of that little kid. "But he got there himself."