William Campbell (American football)

Will Campbell

refer to caption

Campbell at Michigan Stadium, September 2012
No. 62Green Bay Packers
Position: Nose Tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: (1991-07-06) July 6, 1991
Place of birth: Detroit, Michigan
Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Weight: 330 lb (150 kg)
Career information
High school: Detroit (MI) Cass Tech
College: Michigan
NFL draft: 2013 / Round: 6 / Pick: 178
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Player stats at NFL.com

William Campbell (born July 6, 1991) is an American football nose tackle for the Green Bay Packers organization. Campbell was drafted by the New York Jets in the sixth round, 178th overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Michigan.

Early years

He played high school football under head coach Thomas Wilcher at Cass Technical High School in Detroit. While in high school, the 6 foot, 5 inch defensive tackle was also the team's punter and kicker and ran the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds.[1] He played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, was selected as a first-team All-American by Parade magazine, EA Sports, and SuperPrep magazine. He was ranked as the best high school player in Michigan, the best defensive player in the Midwest, and one of the top high school players in the United States.[1][2] Campbell had numerous scholarships offers and eventually narrowed his choice to Miami, LSU, and Michigan.[2]

Name Home town High school / college Height Weight 40 Commit date
William Campbell
Defensive tackle
Detroit, Michigan Cass Tech High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 317 lb (144 kg) 5.0 (According to Scout.com) Jan 3, 2008 
Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 6 (DT)   Rivals: 26 National, 5 (DT), 1 (Mich)
  • ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

College career

He had committed to play for Michigan while Lloyd Carr was head coach, but reopened his recruiting in September 2008 after Rich Rodriguez took over as the head coach.[2] In January 2009, on the sidelines of the Army All-American Bowl, Campbell committed to Michigan.[3]

2009 season

Campbell enrolled early at Michigan in January 2009 and participated in the Michigan football team's spring practice.[2] During the 2009 season, Campbell appeared as a true freshman in all 12 games on special teams and played in nine games as a defensive tackle.[1]

2010 season

Midway through the 2010 season, head coach Rich Rodriguez assigned Campbell to the offensive line. He also appeared as a fullback in goal line situations. He appeared in all 13 games for Michigan and received his second varsity letter.[1]

2011 season

Campbell in June 2011.

When new head coach Brady Hoke took over in January 2011, Campbell met with Hoke and asked to return to the defense.[4] In March 2011, Hoke announced that Campbell was returning to the defense.[5] Campbell appeared in all 13 games for the 2011 Michigan team. He recovered a fumble in Michigan's come-from-behind victory over Notre Dame in the first night game ever played at Michigan Stadium.[1] After a disappointing showing in his first two seasons,[6] Campbell won praise in the press for his improved play in 2011.[7]

2012 season

Jibreel Black and Will Cambell on Michigan bench

In late May 2012, Campbell was charged with felony malicious-destruction-of-property arising out of an incident on April 7 in which the 322-pound athlete "slid across the hood" of a Lincoln Town Car, causing damage to the hood.[8][9][10] He reached a plea deal in June 2012 in which the felony charge was waived in exchange for a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge and an agreement to pay $2,100 in restitution to the vehicle's owner.[10][11][12]

In August 2012, Campbell showed up at training camp having lost 46 pounds.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] A writer for an Ann Arbor newspaper reported:

"Overweight and out of shape for most of his career, Campbell generally spent the first week of Michigan football practice catching his breath and figuring out how he'd make it through the first month of the season. Not this time, though. 'I'm not huffing and puffing anymore,' the senior defensive tackle said after practice Monday. 'I'm not dying right now.'"[13]

Teammate Taylor Lewan added, "His conditioning shows it. You should seem [sic] him run – it's like a gazelle. Unreal."[20] Team captain Denard Robinson joked: "Will shows off his stomach more than I do. You can tell that he lost that weight."[21]

Campbell was a starter at defensive tackle for the 2012 Michigan Wolverines football team.[22] He appeared in all of Michigan's first nine games. He totaled a career-high five tackles and had an unassisted sack in the season opener against Alabama. He has appeared in 47 consecutive games for Michigan.[1] He was a 2012 All-Big Ten honorable mention selection by the media for the 2012 Wolverines.[23][24]

Professional career

New York Jets

Campbell was drafted by the New York Jets in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft on April 27, 2013.[25] He was released on August 30, 2014.[26]

Buffalo Bills

Campbell was signed to the Buffalo Bills' practice squad on October 7, 2014.[27] On September 4, 2015, he was released by the Bills.[28]

Green Bay Packers

Campbell was signed to the Green Bay Packers practice squad on January 5, 2016.[29] On January 18, 2016, Campbell signed a 3-year futures contract with the Green Bay Packers.[30]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Will Campbell Profile". University of Michigan. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Alex Prosperi (March 27, 2009). "Campbell settling in early at Michigan". The Michigan Daily.
  3. John Heuser (February 5, 2009). "Defensive lineman William Campbell adjusts to life at Michigan". MLive.com.
  4. Michael Rothstein (April 4, 2012). "Slimmer Campbell must play big: Senior has sizable shoes to fill along Michigan's defensive line". ESPN.com.
  5. "UM's Will Campbell back on defense". The Detroit News. March 9, 2011.
  6. Sharp, Drew (August 18, 2011). "Campbell shows recruit rankings can be inflated". Detroit Free Press.
  7. Kyle Meinke (October 3, 2011). "Michigan defensive tackle Will Campbell receives more praise for his improving play, growing role". AnnArbor.com.
  8. Kyle Feldscher (May 31, 2012). "Michigan defensive lineman Will Campbell arraigned on misdemeanor, felony vandalism charges". AnnArbor.com.
  9. Mark Snyder (June 1, 2012). "Michigan's William Campbell faces two vandalism charges". USA Today. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  10. 1 2 Mark Snyder (June 14, 2012). "Michigan DT Will Campbell reaches plea deal in court case". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved June 24, 2012.
  11. "Michigan's Will Campbell gets plea deal in car damage case". The Sporting News. June 15, 2012.
  12. "William Campbell pleads guilty". ESPN.com. June 14, 2012.
  13. 1 2 Nick Baumgardner (August 7, 2012). "Slimmed down Will Campbell says he owes Michigan football fans a great senior season". AnnArbor.com.
  14. Mark Snyder (August 2, 2012). "Michigan's Will Campbell has trimmed down, is ready to show how much he's grown". Orlando Sentinel.
  15. Mark Snyder (August 26, 2012). "Michigan's Will Campbell tackling expectations and leadership role". Detroit Free Press.
  16. Michael Rothstein (August 8, 2012). "Campbell must take a stand: Senior defensive tackle is running out of time to deliver on his promise". ESPN.com.
  17. Brad Galli (August 7, 2012). "Michigan's Will Campbell slims down, looks to reach potential". WXYZ.
  18. Nick Baumgardner (June 27, 2012). "Greg Mattison tells BTN that Michigan senior DT Will Campbell 'has to be' the leader up front in 2012". AnnArbor.com.
  19. Nick Baumgardner (March 29, 2012). "Done with excuses and no longer 'lazy,' Will Campbell hopes for big senior season at Michigan". AnnArbor.com.
  20. Kyle Meinke (July 31, 2012). "Michigan's Will Campbell has been praised before, but Brady Hoke explains why this year is different". AnnArbor.com.
  21. Stephen J. Nesbitt (August 6, 2012). "Slim Campbell poised to make big impact as a senior". The Michigan Daily.
  22. Michael Rothstein (March 22, 2012). "DT Campbell running out of chances". ESPN.com.
  23. "Lewan, Hagerup Win Top Position Awards at Big Ten Banquet". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. November 26, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  24. "Big Ten Announces 2012 All-Big Ten Teams and Select Individual Award Winners". BigTen.org. CBS Interactive. November 26, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  25. Cimini, Rich (27 April 2013). "Sixth round: OL William Campbell". ESPN New York. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  26. Lange, Randy (August 30, 2014). "Jets Make Final Cuts to Get to 53". New York Jets. Archived from the original on August 30, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  27. "Bills sign Campbell, Towns to practice squad". Associated Press. October 7, 2014. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  28. Brown, Chris (September 4, 2015). "Leodis McKelvin to Reserve/NFI as Bills release 16". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  29. http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-press-release/article-1/Packers-announce-roster-moves/b84f6f45-f37d-47a6-9247-ac9a2d750fc4
  30. "Williams, Johnson get three-year contracts from Packers". Green Bay Packers. Retrieved 2016-01-22.

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