We should redshirt Will Campbell next year

Submitted by cypress on
The more I think about the QWash/WC swap, the more I think its a good move. If by now Campbell isnt showing progress at DT, he's probably not going to get it. A lot of people felt his true potential was on the OL anyway. We will need Washington to contribute next year, so hopefully with a full spring at DT under his belt he will be ready. As for Campbell, somehow I doubt he'll be ready to compete on the OL next year. Let him red-shirt, learn the position, and see what he can do in 2012. We have enough depth to get away with it, barring injuries. It may end up being a brilliant move.

UMWest22

October 24th, 2010 at 10:48 PM ^

Do you have Rodriguez's email address?  I think you should foreword this to him!

/joking

Actually, I agree.  That experience time will be really invaluable with a newer position.  I think it's the right move.

EZMIKEP

October 24th, 2010 at 10:44 PM ^

this move. But if this is what the coaches find to be the best place for him and he turns out to be really great then I am all for whatever makes the team better.  You can never get "too good" on the offensive line. 

DGDestroys

October 24th, 2010 at 10:44 PM ^

If he's ready to play next year, let him compete. If he's not ready to play at guard next year, I'm going to rip my hair out if the coaches burn a redshirt by putting him in on extra points

mejunglechop

October 24th, 2010 at 10:47 PM ^

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I don't see Big Will fitting what we do with our offensive linemen and spending a year and a half on an unrelated position is going to set him back.

yossarians tree

October 24th, 2010 at 10:51 PM ^

Guy is buried in the depth chart with tremendous physical potential and an obvious need for coaching...give him a year more to develop and you might have a beast offensive guard for 12-13.

sbeck04

October 24th, 2010 at 10:57 PM ^

I propose J Black adds weight and becomes a monster at DT while Big Will immediately becomes an all-big ten G. This will immediately be followed by much RR bashing not making the move sooner and an orgy of neg-bangs for criticizing our infallible coaches.

So, please vote yes on prop 2 at the midterm elections.

cypress

October 24th, 2010 at 11:00 PM ^

If anyone saw him get run over on the FG attempt, you'll get my concern that he may not be ready any time soon. But if he isnt "getting it" at DT, and they think he has good potential at guard, let him red-shirt for the year to learn the postion. But if he's ready...then absolutely, let him play. I just have my doubts that he will be. Fortunately we should be ok on the line.

BlueFab5

October 24th, 2010 at 11:02 PM ^

It seems one of the issues Campbell has is his pad level.  He plays to high and does not get a push at the line of scrimmage.

I'm a "the coaches know more than we do" guy.   Hopefully I'm wrong, but I don't see him being able to contribute on the other side.

I do think a redshirt next year is still a good idea to give him another year of practice.  We'll need everyone we have ready to go 9/1/12.  Hopefully that will be the start of a historic year.

Jivas

October 24th, 2010 at 11:07 PM ^

I'd redshirt Campbell next year, and I'd redshirt Je'ron Stokes too - we lose our top 3 outside WRs after next year and he's only got 1 year of eligibility after next season.

But life's not a video game.  In real life redshirting veteran players doesn't happen too often.  There are certainly exceptions where this happens, but they're rare.

marlon

October 24th, 2010 at 11:08 PM ^

The decision not to redshirt Campbell his true freshman year is really inexplicable.  It's one of those judgment calls that seems to have no rational basis--neither Campbell nor the team gained anything from Campbell's brief appearances on the field.

Moreoever, by not redshirting Campbell his freshman year, it seems to me that the possibility of ever redshirting him has been utterly foreclosed (barring an injury, of course).  With highly regarded players transferring because of playing time issues (Brandon Smith, JT Turner, and Anthony Lalota, to name three), I doubt the coaching staff would want to risk upsetting another player with monster potential.

bronxblue

October 24th, 2010 at 11:25 PM ^

If Campbell really doesn't take to the tackle position, they might as well move him to the OL and at least salvage two years of his talent.  Still, it would be troubling that he is so raw that it would be easier to completely retrain his approach than try to improve on the defensive line.

AAL

October 25th, 2010 at 8:19 AM ^

If it were a video game, sure. But I can't imagine anything more amotivating than redshirting a kid who's gotten on the field a little his first two years. He's tasted it, even if with poor results. Now you're going to say "hey, you're not going to play for a year, but work hard to improve"...? I think if you did you're asking for him to go through the motions and/or transfer. I don't think the intended benefit is there unless he's the rare 20 year old with his head on perfectly straight.

mgokev

October 25th, 2010 at 9:21 AM ^

If he transfers he will have to sit out a year also (but lose a year of eligibility).  I would think that redshirting, staying in the same system and learning a new position to be a benefit to the team the following two years would be wanted more than transferring, then only having one year to prove anything to the NFL scouts.  Plus, who's to say that the team he transfers to wouldn't put him on OL or have him backing up someone on DL because his skills are raw?

AAL

October 25th, 2010 at 3:30 PM ^

Seriously? No, he wouldn't lose a year of eligibility. That's kind of important to understand.

Why do 20 year olds do anything they do? They're not always big picture guys. A year to a kid that age is a long time. His expectations of participating have already been met. It's just not plausible, unless he's extraordinary mentally.

I'm not talking about whether he can play the position here or elsewhere. It's just that redshirting a junior-to-be is a ridiculously hard sell.

cypress

October 25th, 2010 at 11:37 PM ^

Well, thats what makes this board a little pretentious and obnoxious. People spend too much worrying about being clever, doing things the "customary" way, and fitting in with others in the clique, rather than just talk about football. Someone can neg me if they want, but I know theres a lot more people that agree with me. Lots of smug, self-important people on here who like to nitpick to make themselves feel important.