‘Biggest moment’ of Will Campbell’s life taught Patriots first-rounder what he was capable of

SAN FRANCISCO — For Patriots rookie Will Campbell, a consequential event came early.

“The biggest moment of life for me was probably my freshman year in high school,” Campbell said at the Santa Clara Marriott this week.

As a 14-year-old from Northern Louisiana, Campbell was on a family vacation when he received a phone call from Louisiana State that he thought would change his life. Ed Orgeron’s staff wanted Campbell to attend their offensive and defensive line camp to see what he could do.

Campbell dreamed of being a Tiger, so he ditched the family trip and tossed on his shoulder pads. Far from fully grown, he weighed roughly 220 pounds, but Orgeron’s staff threw Campbell right into the fire.

“They put me in with the seniors and I got destroyed all day,” Campbell said.

As if that wasn’t dispiriting enough, Campbell’s day got worse.

“After that camp, Coach O talked to me and my dad and he said, ‘I was prepared to offer you a scholarship today, but I didn’t see what I needed to see,’” Campbell said. “And I mean, I cried three hours home.”

On that long ride, his father, Brian “Bull” Campbell didn’t treat his son with kid gloves. This wasn’t going to be a woe-is-me situation. The message from the farmer and former East Texas A&M lineman to his son was that this wouldn’t be his last time on a football field.

“That I’m going to get another opportunity,” Campbell said. “It wasn’t like him rubbing me on my back whenever I was crying.”

Fortunately for Campbell, he didn’t need to wait that long. There were more LSU camps on the horizon, and when he returned to Baton Rouge, Campbell wasn’t going to be a punching bag.

“I went back two weeks later, didn’t lose a rep and got the offer,” Campbell said. “I would say that was a big moment in my football career... Don’t let anyone tell you, you can’t.”

That validating moment has served Campbell well since.

He didn’t just play at LSU, Campbell starred. Even though he was an offensive lineman, Campbell was awarded the team’s No. 7 jersey, which is given to the team’s best Louisiana-born player. Campbell was only allowed to wear it as a patch, but it spoke to his dominance.

“We want to build upon that tradition and honor the best player on our team who is from the state of Louisiana,” then-coach Brian Kelly said. “Will Campbell has made such an impact on our team in such a short period of time and embodies the qualities to join the legacy of the players that have come before him.”

Campbell wound up as New England’s first-round pick, taken No. 4 overall, but still found plenty of detractors in the pre-draft process. Given his shorter-than-blue-chip arm length, critics said he’d never be a quality NFL tackle.

On Sunday in Santa Clara, he’ll start at left tackle as the Patriots compete for Super Bowl 60. Ever since that day when he was thrown to the wolves as a freshman, Campbell has known what he’s capable of. He was once told he wasn’t worthy of an LSU scholarship and look at how that turned out.

“Just don’t take no for an answer. Just don’t take no for an answer,” Campbell repeated. “If you want something it’s going to take some work to go get it.”

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.