Miami (and especially Jason Taylor) make big impression on under-the-radar 6-7 D-lineman
Chamberlain Campbell’s eyes light up at the mention of Jason Taylor’s name.
Campbell, one of the most fascinating prospects to emerge late in the 2023 recruiting cycle, knows he has a long way to go to be the player he can — it’s only natural for a 6-foot-6, 210-pound senior playing football for the first time in his life this year — and he knows the same was true for Taylor, a 6-6 Pro Football Hall of Famer, when he was coming out of high school in 1993.
“He was smaller than me when he came to college,” the unranked edge rusher said Friday, “and they just put the weight on him and he turned into a great player.”
It’s a big part of why Campbell is so interested in the Miami Hurricanes. In March, Miami hired Taylor as a defensive analyst, and his presence immediately resonated with defensive recruits and especially ones who look like Campbell.
Until this year, Campbell was basically a total unknown. He never played football before — he was mostly a basketball player with some Division II interest, he said — and finally decided to give it a shot in the summer at the behest of a coach at St. Petersburg Lakewood.
Colleges took notice quickly. The Michigan State Spartans gave him his first scholarship offer in October, and the Hurricanes followed the next day. Now, Campbell holds more than a dozen offers with new ones coming in almost every week.
Campbell wrapped up his debut season last week in the Class 2M semifinals with Lakewood’s 39-21 loss to Miami Central in Miami, and he finished the year with 45 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, eight sacks, three passes defended, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery as a defensive tackle.
It was an encouraging inaugural season, proving already he can get his massive, raw frame to translate into production in one of the toughest classifications in Florida.
“It’s been super exciting,” Campbell said. “It’s just a great opportunity to have all these colleges wanting me for what I’ve been putting in the work and time into, and I’m just so blessed to have the opportunity to have college coaches coming to watch some of my games and critique my work.”
A couple of those coaches last week were Hurricanes.
Defensive ends coach Rod Wright and linebackers Charlie Strong both made the quick trip to Traz Powell Stadium, mostly to watch Central stars Rueben Bain and Stanquan Clark, but with the added benefit of getting an in-person look at Campbell.
The Hurricanes hosted Campbell for an unofficial visit last month and are still in regular contact with the defensive lineman, he said.
Although the early signing period is fast approaching, Campbell won’t be in a rush this month. With his still recruitment still growing, Campbell plans to wait until the traditional national signing day to make his final choice, meaning he can wait until next month to really start taking his official visits.
Said the senior: “I’m going to wait.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2022 at 9:57 AM.
