Jack Campbell looks like your typical middle linebacker, standing 6’5” and 249 pounds.

He also embraces the position as if always meant to play it.

“You get to experience so many different things,” Campbell said at the NFL Combine in late February. “One play is never like the last. For me, I like to kind of be in control and make sure everyone’s lined up correctly. And the way it tests you mentally is, you can go out there and mess a play really bad and feel that sting and feel that pain from that play and also go out there and have a hell of a play and just the feeling from that. Just the ups and downs and the emotional roller coaster. I'm always going to stay steady, but I feel like that's what draws me to the position.”

Campbell sat back his first two seasons at Iowa, but elevated into one of the nation’s best at the position his last two.

It began with Campbell leading college football in tackles in 2021 with 143.

His play went to a new level in 2022, earning 1^st team All-American honors, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, the Butkus Award as the best LB in college football, as well as the William Campbell Award, known as the Academic Heisman.

While no MLB can stack up with that resume, Campbell’s testing stacked up worse than nearly everyone at the linebacker spot, including a 4.65 second 40 yard dash time at the Combine, 2^nd slowest LB who ran in Indy.

Those numbers, though, not what Campbell believes brings about success on the field.

“Non-negotiables at linebacker are your eyes and your feet,” Campbell explained at the Combine. “It just starts right there and it's just base, simple stuff. A lot of people overlook it and take it to a new level, which I don't think you need to take it to. I feel like you have to stick true to yourself. Stick true to the fundamentals. And then the mental aspect. The mental aspect at the linebacker position is the most important part to be able to go out there and perform at the highest level week in and week out."

Campbell has reportedly been working out with former Panthers All-Pro MLB Luke Keuchly throughout the pre-draft process. Keuchly, of course, is a Sean McDermott favorite, who elevated into one of the best linebackers in the NFL with McDermott as Carolina’s defensive coordinator.

He is projected to be a late 1^st to 2^nd round selection.