Clemson checks a lot of boxes for top defensive lineman Isaiah Campbell

Four-star Snow Hill, NC defender Isaiah Campbell spent two days at Clemson's camp.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jun 21 07:00:20 GMT-04:00 2023

Clemson is checking a lot of boxes for one of the top defensive linemen in the country.

Isaiah Campbell (6-5, 265) is a 4-star 2025 prospect out of Snow Hill (NC) Greene Central who spent time at Dabo Swinney’s high school camp a few weeks ago. It was an experience in which Campbell learned about more than just football.

“It was an experience. I learned more about myself, and I learned more about Clemson and all,” Campbell told TigerNet. “So it was a great experience that showed me more about football, more about coaches and stuff at Clemson, more about Clemson overall and just seeing what Clemson has to offer.”

What did he learn about himself?

“It was hot out there, so I had to learn about my body a little bit,” Campbell said. “So I had to hydrate, and drink lots of water to hydrate. I was by myself too, having the confidence on myself, going out the field every single day, having that mindset and that grind mindset and have that dog that nobody's going to stop. Doing your reps 100% all the time. And just having that honesty and that dog kind of solidified that in camp for me.”

Defensive tackles coach Nick Eason also made an impression.

“I love Coach Eason, and I learned how defense should look and how it plays, how Clemson plays and their attack defense, where the defense is not holding up blocks but attacks,” Campbell said. “And he did drills to incorporate that. And I was there for two days, and I did the drills and everything. And I got taught by Coach Eason, and so I understood and I could see the level of play and what he was talking about. So, I learned more about him. And then also I believe we kind of got to get a better relationship, too, as a player and coach.”

Campbell boasts 20 offers, including Clemson, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, UNC, NC State, South Carolina, and Penn St., and hopes to make it to Alabama before the end of the summer. As for the rest, he’s hoping to take a look at the rest of the schools on his offer list and figure out which ones he wants to see.

However, he knows Clemson will be in the running when it is time to make a decision.

“Well, right now Clemson has great academics. I'm an academic student. I have a 4.28 GPA right now. Great academics,” Campbell said. “And I've seen the program that coach Dabo Swinney has put in place for the football students to excel and not to skate by their classes. That's great academics. Then the great football. And they won National Championships in 2016 and 2018, and they won against all of the ACC and SEC teams. “They put out great defensive players, like the d-tackles, they put a lot of guys in the league. You just see the players that they put out, how they're very quality and how they're very polished. And that's what I'm looking at for a school, great academics and the style of play, what kind of style I'm going to play. I want to play in an attacking defense where a defender can go and make all the plays,

“And so Clemson is really checking some of the boxes for me. And I feel like they're really high on my board.”

Greene Central went 10-2 this past season before falling to Rocky Mount (N.C.) Nash Central in the playoffs. Campbell had 61 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, two caused fumbles and five sacks this season.