Raider standout became household name in Hillsborough
By: Rudy Brandl
Matt Campbell will be faced with the same adjustments as any other graduated high school athlete when he leaves for Johns Hopkins University later this month.
Campbell, who has become somewhat of a celebrity on the Hillsborough High playing fields the last few years, won’t be a household name down in Baltimore. He’ll have to work hard to gain the same recognition he enjoyed as a Raider.
"It’s going to be hard to leave," said Campbell, who accumulated seven varsity letters during a stellar scholastic career. "Everyone knows your name and what you’ve done in high school. At college, nobody will know me. I’m not going to look up in the stands and know too many people."
Campbell, who also starred on the wrestling mat and batted .300 for the baseball team this spring, will continue his football career at JHU. He became a key cog in the HHS defensive secondary and special teams units during his last two years of high school, leading the Raiders in tackles last fall. Campbell and his teammates will never forget that championship season that ended with a glorious victory over Sayreville at Rutgers Stadium last December.
"Football season was hard to describe," he said. "It’s something we were shooting for since our freshman year, especially with the group of guys we had. We were trying to win a championship since freshman year and that was really great. It was an unbelievable feeling."
The 6-1, 165-pound Campbell has spent the summer working out hard, running and lifting just about every day. He’ll begin practice with the team on Aug. 18.
"I’m pretty excited," said Campbell, who figures to play free safety. "They’re talking about me playing freshman year. I started their off-season plan in May. It’s a good program with lots of agility and weight lifting."
Campbell is also looking forward to playing on JHU’s beautiful astro-turf field, one which is shared with the Division 1 power men’s lacrosse team. He got a little taste of the hard and fast surface in the Sunshine Bowl Classic back in July, but he and his Skyland Conference teammates didn’t fare too well that evening. Campbell sustained a couple of scrapes and bruises but made one of the best plays of the game when he blocked an extra point attempt by the Mercer County place-kicker.
It was that type of tenacity and aggressiveness that made Campbell a terrific high school wrestler. He rolled to the Somerset County and District 18 crowns in his junior and senior years and made it all the way to the Continental Airlines Arena last March. Campbell will never forget the feeling of running out to the Meadowlands mat for his state match.
"That was the highlight," he said. "It’s just you and all the work ethic and determination it took to get there. It’s a long road to make it there."
Campbell won’t continue his wrestling career in college, although he had considered wrestling at American University. He certainly has the ability to wrestle on the college level, but he’s decided to focus on academics and football.
"I never really wanted to wrestle in college," Campbell said. "I’d like to eat in college."
Campbell loves the closed-in campus and beautiful Baltimore location. He also knows that JHU will give him a great academic background.
"I was shooting for a better academic school," he said. "I was leaning toward Johns Hopkins because of the academics. I’m excited and I’m looking forward to playing as much as I can. I’m not expecting anything, but if I work hard I should see playing time."
Maybe then Matt Campbell will make a big play, look up in the stands and see a friendly face.