Bruce Campbell: The Best College Football Player You’ve Never Heard Of

The offensive line has been a position of anonymity since the game of football was first played.

The ladies love the guy that makes the shifty move while bursting past the behemoths in front of them. They never realize those holes were opened by the hardest working men in sports.

Sportscenter will show the 65-yard touchdown reception, focusing on the aerial display put on by the receiver and the precise touch shown by the golden boy quarterback. They could care less about the key block that allowed the quarterback to make that throw.

Linemen live with this reality every time they step on the football field but it never seems to inhibit them from doing their job. Plus, the man who cuts the check at the end of the week truly knows how important a premier left tackle is in the NFL. Money can be a master motivator as well as an easy decision changer. Bruce Campbell found that out in 2009.

Campbell, a standout left tackle from Maryland, is even overlooked within his own conference, where he wasn’t voted to any of the three All-ACC teams at season’s end but was still saddled with the decision to return to the Terrapins for his senior season because his tools make him a lock for the first round. NFL scouts would wait in line for days for to make him their franchise left tackle. As his stock continues to rise and the chances of a rookie salary cap become more realistic with each rookie bust, Campbell made the decision to forego his senior season at Maryland and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.

Campbell entered the season as one of the most interesting draft-eligible prospects in the nation. Size, strength and footwork have never been the question regarding Campbell but his ability to stay healthy has been. He had a nagging turf toe injury that sidelined him for the first three games of the 2009 campaign. Once healthy Campbell put some highlights on film that you will only see from the most dominating of offensive linemen.

You can find a 6′7″, 310lb offensive lineman at every BCS conference school in the country. But you would be hard pressed to find a more athletic one than Campbell at any of them. An all-state basketball player in high school, Campbell’s power and explosiveness are second to none. Maryland strength coach Dwight Galt described Campbell as the “offensive line version of Vernon Davis”. Considering the show Davis put on at the Combine in 2006 that is the highest praise any Terp can be given.

Maryland endured another tough season in 2009 under Ralph Freidgen but the good news for Campbell is that he can start training for the NFL Draft immediately. Draft prognosticators have Campbell going anywhere from #12-28 in the first round but expect that number to rise as Combine results become available. Campbell is the type of athlete that can make himself millions of dollars by posing for scouts and displaying his other-worldly athleticism in front of every NFL executive in attendance.

Between now and April, the name Bruce Campbell is going to be one of the hottest names in NFL circles. Get it used to hearing it.