Caleb Campbell: A True Underdog Story

It’s strange to think that a professional football player is coming into the 2010 season with no NFL experience, despite being drafted in 2008.

Even stranger is the image of that same player, who will turn 26 in September, being forced to carry the pads of, say, 23-year-old second-year player Zack Follett.

Yet that scenario is just one of many unusual circumstances brought about by the tale of West Point graduate Caleb Campbell.

You might remember Campbell as the only interesting thing that happened in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. And no, not just because he was Matt Millen’s final draft pick. But he was…right after Landon Cohen, Jerome Felton, and Kenneth Moore (who was a wide receiver, but I had to look it up, because I don’t even remember him).

And as the final pockmark on the giant blemish that is the Millen Era, it’s a little strange that Lions fans would be pulling for Campbell.

But here we are in training camp, and I get the feeling I’m not the only one who wants to see Campbell do well. It shouldn’t be surprising; as Lions fans, we’re hardwired to root for the underdog, and Campbell fills that role perfectly.

I am convinced that Campbell earned himself a deal with the Lions by sheer force of will. By all logic, the football world should have forgotten about him long ago.

In the first place, he was drafted in the seventh round. It’s a rarity that a seventh-round draft pick makes any noise under normal circumstances, but Campbell’s circumstances were far from normal.

Campbell had earned himself a three-year contract with the Lions, only to have it pulled out from under him when the U.S. Army re-wrote its policy about NFL draftees two weeks before training camp (and then neglected to tell Campbell until he reported to training camp) and ordered Campbell back to his mandatory two years of active duty before he could sign his contract.

On a side note, I still don’t understand the reasoning behind this. Campbell was the first Army player to be drafted since quarterback Ronnie McAda was the Green Bay Packers’ Mr. Irrelevant in 1997. It was a great story that got squashed by bureaucracy.

Army’s new football recruiting message: “Now seeking only sub-par players with no future in the sport. Top-level players stay away, because we won’t let you play professionally.”

Anyway, Army came out looking really bad on that one, and I know West Point has more pressing things to worry about than football, but it’s not like Campbell was looking for an exception. The rule was already in place, Campbell just needed them to not make an exception disallowing his entry to the NFL.

I digress.

The point is, Campbell survived two years away from football after being a seventh-round pick and switching positions (quarterback in high school, safety in college, now working out at linebacker) to earn himself a one-year contract, and now he’s making it count.

Not only did Campbell finally make it to training camp, two years late, he’s now moving up the unofficial depth chart in camp. When last seen, he had displaced Ashlee Palmer with the second-team defense.

Now, just to quell some of that hype, all that means is that he’s better than Ashlee Palmer, which isn’t saying all that much.

But given his circumstances, that is exceptional. It’s difficult enough for a star NFL player to take two years off and come back in playing form (see: Michael Vick). A late-round pick missing two crucial years, only to come back and learn a position he’s never played before better than a young player who has played there his entire career? Phenomenal.

At this rate, Campbell is destined to become a fan favorite this year, much like another seventh-round linebacker did last year.

Of course, Zack Follett came to the Lions via Cal, not West Point (though if you think about it, Follett has all the makings of an ROTC guy), so he didn’t have to deal with the same barriers Campbell did.

No, Follett made his name by issuing a draft-day statement that he was going to personally make the 31 teams who passed on him pay for it (payments can be made in blood, teeth, or broken bones).

Then Follett got to training camp, and ran around like he didn’t know where he was, so he got cut and sent to the practice squad. When the Lions’ special teams fell on hard times, Follett got the call.

And then he proceeded to make good on his promise. Repeatedly.

Follett only notched 10 tackles last year for the entire season, but it seemed like every time he got close to a ball carrier, the shockwaves from the impending hit blew you out of your seat.

Now, in one offseason’s time, Follett has gone from special teams playmaker to potential (or even likely?) starter at weakside linebacker.

And if you consider training camp performance, it looks like Campbell might be following a similar path. Campbell lacks Follett’s outspoken, sometimes certifiably insane demeanor, but makes up for it by having perhaps the most patriotic story in sports today.

The man gets his dream snatched away from his fingertips, serves his country for two years, then, against all odds, finds a spot on the team (which was under completely different management than the team that drafted him) and might actually be a good player? Now that is a real underdog story.

And we Lions fans can’t resist a good underdog story.