Miami (Fla.) DE Calais
Campbell is one of the tallest players in this
year’s draft class at 6-7?nbsp;— and
he makes sure to mention the partial inch —
but he’s also one of the best. Expected to
be drafted in the late first round or
early second, Campbell is a gifted pass
rusher who might just be coming into his own
at age 21 (he turns 22 right before the season
starts). Athletics are in Campbell’s blood,
too. He is perhaps the best athlete in the family,
having averaged a double-double in hoops in high
school and could have played Division I as a
tight end, too, but he also has five
football-playing brothers who have played college
ball.
Campbell’s sacks fell off from 10?nbsp;as a
sophomore to six as a junior, but he got enough
positive feedback to enter the draft early, and it
appears to be a sound decision. Although tragedy struck
the Hurricanes’ program the past few years with
the deaths of Brian Pata and Sean Taylor,
Campbell believed he could deal with death better
than others because of the father he lost in high
school. Campbell took some time to talk with PFW about
the his kick-blocking proficiency, the Miami tradition,
playing tall, skiing and “icebox pie.”
PFW: Tell me about your high school career
— I heard you were quite adept at blocking kicks
and running them back for touchdowns.
Campbell: (laughs) Yeah, I had a couple
returns for touchdowns. I think I had like five.
Blocking kicks, it’s kind of fun, coming off the
edge. I didn’t do too much of it at Miami, but
high school was a blast. I had the Colorado state
record for sacks.
PFW: Yeah, you had more than 60, right?
Campbell: I had 57.
PFW: And you also played
tight end?
Campbell: Yes I did.
PFW: Is that why you went to Miami? Were you
attracted to the school because of guys like Kellen
Winslow and Jeremy Shockey?
Campbell: I was recruited to play both.
The first day they gave me an offensive playbook, and
they gave me (uniform) No. 81. But the defensive
coaches wanted me to play defense as well. So it worked
out well for me.
PFW: So how did they
convince you defense was the way to go?
Campbell: I have been playing defensive
end since I was six. I had only played tight end in the
three years before that. I even played a little
offensive line my junior year. Really, defense has been
in my heart since I was a little kid. But when I was
playing ball, Shannon Sharpe was my favorite player,
and I wanted to play tight end at first. But my coach,
when I was 6 years old, put me at defensive end,
and I was a natural.
PFW: Were you bigger than everyone back then
too?
Campbell: I was pretty big, but I
wasn’t bigger than everybody. I just continued
growing when other kids stopped.
PFW: You also played a little hoops. Did you
get D-I attention?
Campbell: Oh yeah, I have a little bit
of basketball skills. A couple of schools offered me
double scholarships, especially in the Pac-10 —
Washington and Oregon. But I told people right away I
wanted (most) to play football. At Miami, (Coach Frank
Haith) recruited me to play basketball as well, but
football was in my heart then and I wanted to be the
best I could be, so I didn’t want to mess that up
by playing basketball. Part of me kind of wishes I did
try it, just because I am pretty good at it. But the
football thing has worked out well for me.
PFW: I’d say so. Who is the best hoops
player other than you on the football team?
Campbell: I would have to go
with Lovon Ponder. But there are a couple of guys
who can ball.
PFW: Were you 6-foot-7 when you got to Miami or
did you grow?
Campbell: Yeah, I maybe grew like half
an inch after I got to school.
PFW: And what did you weigh?
Campbell: When I first got there? I
weighed 228. I am about 282 right now.
PFW: Is that a pretty good number for you? Do
you believe you could play at that weight in the
NFL?
Campbell: I think this is a perfect
weight for me. I have been working out pretty hard,
training real hard. I think I got up to 290 for a
while, and I could play at that weight. But 280 or so
feels a lot better.
PFW: What are the advantages and disadvantages
of being tall in football?
Campbell: It really helps out a lot
creating great leverage. If you get up into people, it
really helps you. And I have the long arms to bat
down passes. But also, when you are tall, a lot of guys
want to cut (block) you. You really have to work them,
by bending, playing with your hands. I play the cut
block well, but it’s kind of hard because you
have to play with really great technique.
PFW: Do you regret redshirting considering how
you have played?
Campbell: No, not at all. I think
redshirting was something I needed to do, playing on
the scout team and going against (former Hurricane and
current Texans OT) Chris Myers. And I played
against Eric Winston, who is also in the NFL (with the
Texans). It really helped me fine-tune my game and let
me get tested against better guys. It really helped me
adjust to college.
PFW: In 2006, you really made a name for
yourself with sacks in seven straight games. What
was the difference for you that season, being so good?
Campbell: It was my first year actually
starting, I really felt like — Coach (John)
Palermo was there at the time — he demanded the
best out of me. That’s when I really played hard.
I really feel like I play with great passion. And I
started playing with great technique.
PFW: This past year, did you play up to your
expectations?
Campbell: I didn’t play as well as
I wanted to, not at all. I feel like I had a good year,
I still played pretty well. I didn’t get to the
quarterback as much as I did the year before, but I
really feel like I played a lot better (as a junior).
Even the year before when I had a great year, I feel
like I could have had a better year. Last year, my
technique wasn’t as good as it should have been.
I realize I could have made some more plays, but when
you lose your technique, it’s kind of hard to
make plays, especially if you are off balance or out of
control sometimes. If I take a good angle and hit the
quarterback, he gets hit, even if I don’t get the
sack. But I realized my first step was outward instead
of forward. It took me longer to get off. Little
technique things that really led to me not making big
plays.
PFW: Talk a little about Bryan Pata — how
much did his death affect you?
Campbell: Oh man, that was so tough on
the whole team, especially the D-line because he was
our leader. He really worked with me a lot and helped
me be the best I could be. And I played behind him the
year before. We talked a lot, and he worked with me the
first time I started, against Florida State. It was
just him walking me through that first game, telling me
what I needed to do to beat my guy. And it really
helped me out. He was a good friend of mine, and when
that happened it was real tough on me and the whole
D-line. The night before (his murder) we had a good
day. It was our D-line coach’s birthday, and we
dumped some water on him. And Pata was just so happy.
I can’t believe it happened. It makes you
appreciate life. You never know when it’s going
to be over, so you have to live for today and not worry
about tomorrow too much.
PFW: Had you ever met Sean Taylor before he was
killed?
Campbell: I definitely met him before.
Most of the NFL guys come back. Sean came back as well,
and I got to meet him and know him a little bit. It
hurts when you see something like that happen. My dad
passed away when I was a senior in high school, and my
grandmother passed away when I was young. Those hurt
badly, but I got to see death when I was younger, and I
really learned that you have to appreciate the good
times when they are on Earth because you can’t
change it. You can’t change the outcome, so you
remember the good times.
PFW: Back to football … I heard there was
some confusion on the sideline with two different
coaches signaling in defensive calls at the same time
at times. True?
`Campbell: I don’t think there was
as much confusion with the coaches as there was with
the players. I think it was just that we didn’t
always play together as a team. Coach (Randy) Shannon
was always trying to get us to play with discipline.
And if the guys on the field are not playing together,
it doesn’t matter what the coaches call. I really
feel like (Coach Shannon) is doing a good job of
getting guys on the same page, this year especially.
And the stuff he did last year will really help next
year as well. Some of the things they threw at us at
first were simplified, but now that guys know what to
expect they can do more. I really think the team is
headed in the right direction.
PFW: Who were the NFL
players you talked to most often in the Miami weight
room?
Campbell: Oh man. From Ed Reed to Reggie
Wayne to Willis McGahee. Jeremy Shockey, but he
didn’t come back this past year. He came back the
year before. Bubba Franks. You go down the line,
it’s crazy how many people come back. I learned a
lot from D.J. Williams. Jonathan Vilma, Jon Beason this
past year. I played with him, but he really helped me a
lot going through this process.
PFW: That’s quite
a list indeed. Tell me about your brothers playing
football.
Campbell: Yeah, my little brother is
here, and I have two brothers who play up at Montana
and I have another brother who played at Adams State,
which is a school in Colorado.
PFW: Who is the
second-best NFL prospect in the family?
Campbell: (laughs) Whoo, that’s
tough! That might cause some trouble! I might have to
avoid some family members after this. My personal
opinion, Ciarre is the best athlete — he’s
got a year left at Montana. Ridiculous athlete, 4.35
(40-yard dash). Speed guy, 40-inch vertical. He’s
6-3, 185 pounds, pure muscle. But my brother, Jared,
who is at Miami, his instincts are just ridiculous.
He’s not the strongest guy out there, but
he’s supersmart. He plays with confidence, and he
has great hips.
PFW: OK, you covered the
bases somewhat by mentioning two brothers.
Campbell: Yeah, but my other brothers
might be a little mad!
PFW: What was your best track event?
Campbell: Ooh, that’s tough
because I did the long jump, triple jump, shotput and
discuss. I didn’t do it my senior year, which I
probably should have. But my junior year I made state
in all four. I think my best might have been shotput,
but my favorite was triple jump.
PFW: Favorite athlete of
all time other than Shannon Sharpe?
Campbell: It’s got to be (Michael)
Jordan. Winning championship after championship …
even now, people want to be like Mike still. A
(basketball) player I really like now is LeBron
(James). At first when he came out, I was like …
“He’s got too much hype coming out of high
school.” But he has really showed me that he is a
ballplayer. And he knows how to win. Carried his team
to the finals last year.
PFW: Favorite
home-cooked meal?
Campbell: That’s tough. My Mom can
throw down! She makes a lot of things I like, but I
like her chicken. When she makes some fried chicken,
mashed potatoes, gravy … I also always ask her to
make this special pie she makes. It’s called the
“Icebox pie.” It's with vanilla
wafers, this cream she makes up, and bananas.
It’s kind of like a banana cookie cream pie.
It’s really good. It’s family recipe.
PFW: Tell her I want
that recipe. Being that you are from Denver, do you
ski?
Campbell: One time. It was a lot of fun.
I fell a lot, and my friend actually got hurt. He came
with me and two other guys I played football with, and
because he got hurt I haven’t been (skiing) since
then. But after I stop playing football, I will
definitely go again.
(pfw.com)