Commanders Post at The Warpath - Jason La Canfora: What I Know About Campbell

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Jason La Canfora: What I Know About Campbell

What I Know About JC

I spent a lot of time around Jason Campbell and the people who know him best shortly after he was drafted, and, while I generally avoid vouching for how a pro athlete is going to conduct himself and don't make too many predictions, I will say this.: This kid is perfectly equipped to handle the pressure, scrutiny and potential trappings of his new job. Will he succeed on the field or not? No one knows, not even Coach Joe. But as a human being, he has the necessary skills.

The way he was raised, the way he conducts himself and the kind of person he has been all of his life - and I believe will continue to be - bodes well for all of the intangibles that come with starting at QB for the Skins. I spent a lot of time just walking around his tiny hometown, Taylorsville, Miss., popping in the few stores there, walking around the elementary and high school,. chatting casually with students, teachers, parents. I have never heard such overwhelmingly glowing things about a young man.

I drove to Auburn, where he went to school, hung out in the office of Campbell's final O-coordinator Al Borges for a long time and heard story after story of the way he led the team. Conducting practices on his own time in the offseason, driving to the dorms of the underclassmen on the team to make sure they were doing their homework and staying out of trouble, Avoiding all of the pitfalls that come with being BMOC. This kid has lived in a fishbowl his entire life - you could not relieve yourself behind a tree in Taylorsville without someone knowing, it's just that small and isolated - and been the biggest thing around and it has never gone to his head. In fact, it seems to have grounded him in his faith and the morals instilled in him by his parents, Larry and Carolyn.

I'll never forget having a shrimp boat with his parents in this little restaurant (talk about fried food in the Deep South, fried shrimp, hush puppies and French fries all on the same platter) and the buzz that went through town. Jason was scheduled to be back in town the following week to have his number retired at the high school, and the waitresses and cooks wanted to make sure he was still coming in for it. When we drove back to their house from lunch, some neighbors had draped banners around the driveway saying, "Welcome Home Jason." It was like the prodigal son returning.

Jason's parents dedicated their lives to their children, and all three graduated college and are successful in their professional lives (his brother, Larry, played football at Mississippi State), and their ranch style home on a desolate street was literally covered with pictures of their children and the trophies and ribbons they won.
Jason was dunking as a freshman and was recruited all over the SEC as a point guard. He was a top baseball player too, until he gave it up, and has done nothing but win on the football field - state title in high school, 31-8 at Auburn including 13-0 as a senior.

He looks the part of a QB, too. He is huge and athletic and hard to bring down. He is willing to take a hit, run with the ball and step into pressure when throwing in the pocket. He can throw the deep ball well, and has always commanded respect from other players.

At Auburn I must have talked to at least 10 of Campbell's teammates, on both sides of the ball, a few secretaries in the football department and spent much of the day with the SID down there, Kirk Sampson. Campbell was ripped down there by the locals for most of his first three years at Auburn and he took it all in stride. Sampson, who has to put out fires daily and act as a sounding board for his players, could not get over how well he handled all the adversity at such a young age. Jason was a beacon other players turned to even as he was under the most pressure and scrutiny of all of them.

Now, how much of this will translate to the NFL? Again, who knows. That's why drafting players and QBs in particular is such a crap shoot. If this was a no-brainer, Coach Joe would have put him under center way before now. But I will say this. There is no chance of this being a Ryan Leaf situation. This kid may not be Peyton Manning, but it was certainly time to give him a look and start to embrace the future.

You don't invest this much in a QB to sit him this long on a poor team, and, even if Campbell never turns into that elite starter the Redskins projected, I'm confident he'll take it in stride and act like an elite person on and off the field.