Jack Campbell: 3 things to know about Detroit Lions No. 18 pick in 2023 NFL Draft
The Detroit Lions selected Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell with the No. 18 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Here are three things to know about Campbell.
He was also a basketball star in high school
Campbell teamed up with A.J. Green, who is now with the Milwaukee Bucks’ G-League team in Wisconsin, to lead Cedar Falls to back-to-back state championships and he received scholarship offers from several Division I schools. Some believed basketball was Campbell’s best sport, but he preferred football.
“In Iowa you do everything because there’s obviously not much to do,” he said. “Being able to compete year round is something I think is invaluable. A lot of people don’t realize that. Like basketball helps you with footwork, track with your sprinting and running mechanics. Then the most important thing is hanging out with your buddies.”
He was not a highly sought after football recruit
Perhaps some schools thought he was leaning toward basketball, but he was only a three-star football recruit, No. 44 among outside linebackers in the nation, though No. 4 in Iowa. Ultimately, he did receive football offers from Iowa State, Northern Iowa (where Green went to play basketball) and Minnesota before deciding to stay close to home and attend Iowa.
Iowa knew it had a good one after Campbell’s performance in a 2018 game when he single-handedly destroyed Southeast Polk High with 17.5 tackles.
“One of my buddies calls and says it was kind of like Jefferson from ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ where they damage the car before the game and Jefferson goes out and has like 20 tackles. Well, that was Jack Campbell that night,” Cedar Falls coach Brad Remmert recalled.
He won the prestigious William V. Campbell award
Last year, Campbell was named the winner of the award that is often referred to as the “academic Heisman.” It is presented by the National Football Foundation to the college football player with the best combination of academics, community service, and on-field performance.
“Winning the Campbell Trophy, it was the accumulation of doing a lot of small things the right way over a long period of time,” he said. “Consistency will overcome a lot. I’m not the smartest dude in the room academically but somehow I wound up with that award.”
Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's newsletter, Bills Blast, which will come out every Friday during the offseason, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Jack Campbell: Meet the Detroit Lions 2023 NFL Draft pick
