Back in May, Sault Ste Marie high school standout Callen Campbell committed to play football at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
On Wednesday, Dec. 20, he signed the official paperwork to be a part of the Wildcat team on a full-ride scholarship.
Family, friends, coaches and former players of Campbell’s met inside the workout room located next to his parent’s house to watch Campbell put his name on the dotted line.
He is the first football player from Sault Ste. Marie to have a full-ride scholarship on a Big 10 team.
The 6′5″ 250-pound Campbell was a three-star recruit who has played several positions for the Blue Devils but has committed to play defensive end for the Wildcats.
He will be wearing #44 on the Wildcats.
Campbell played quarterback, tight end, interior defensive line and outside linebacker during his high school career. He won numerous awards. most recently, making the Detroit News 2023 All-State Dream Team for Defensive Lineman.
Campbell’s father, Gordi, who is an assistant coach on the Blue Devil team, has nothing but praise for Callen’s work ethic.
“I give him a lot of credit for the effort he gave and for taking the step to put himself in a position to get noticed by the right people. He lives and breathes football. It’s been his dream forever,” Gordi said.
“Playing college football has always been my dream. It’s something I have always wanted to do and have always prepped myself to achieve that goal. To play college football at the Big Ten level and to leave high school early, it was a no-brainer,” he said.
Campbell graduated a half-semester early (this week) and will be heading to Northwestern University in a couple of weeks to start his new adventure at the Big Ten school.
“It’s a pretty weird feeling. It (high school) went by really fast. People said it would go fast, and I really realized that today,” Campbell said.
