Early Entry Review: Campbell made his presence known in spring practices
As a recruit in the 2016 cycle out of Woodbridge (Va.) High School, Kyree Campbell initially had his sights set on attending North Carolina. However, the four-star defensive tackle would soon learn in June of last year that UNC had denied his admission.
Suddenly, Campbell’s debut at the FBS level was put on hold.
He would go on to find a fall destination at Kingston (Pa.) Wyoming Seminary Preparatory, where he would spend a semester in an effort to get his grades up and eventually land with a Division I squad.
Thanks to a connection between Campbell’s high school coach, Gary Wortham, and Wyoming Seminary’s coach at the time, Kevin Kelly, the standout defensive tackle found himself a temporary home. While a member of Marshall’s coaching staff from 1996-98 and 2000-01, Kelly built a relationship on the recruiting trail with Wortham, then an assistant at Alexandria (Va.) T.C. Williams High School
Campbell, the No. 8-ranked player in the state of Virginia during the 2016 recruiting cycle, was a big fish in a small pond while at Wyoming Seminary. During that fall 2016 semester, performed well in the classroom and eventually got his SAT score up – enough so to qualify for the Division I level. On the football field, Campbell got a good taste of multiple positions in practices, playing on both the offensive and defensive lines, as well as even seeing some time in the backfield.
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“I was very proud of what Kyree did here. Academically, he jumped right in,” said Kelly, who is currently Bryant University’s defensive coordinator following a year at Wyoming Seminary and roughly 35 years coaching at the college level.
“He had some adversity there, not getting the SAT scores so he had to go to this small prep school in northeast Pennsylvania. He worked really hard in the classroom there and made a name for himself really outside of football. He really impressed a lot of folks.”
Eventually, Campbell landed on Florida’s radar during his second go at the recruiting process. Campbell had a pre-existing relationship with Chris Rumph from the Gators defensive line coach’s time at Alabama, where Campbell would attend some of the program’s camps as a high schooler.
On Dec. 10, 2016, Campbell would commit to the Gators, deciding to enroll early for the 2017 spring semester to get a head start at playing defensive tackle at the college level.
“It ended up being a match that worked well for Kyree, to be able to get a grand education from Florida and play in the SEC and play some good football there,” Wortham said.
“I know he’s doing well at Florida and getting the academics to where he needs to, because I know their program, they provide that thing there for their guys in a huge way. Probably the best touch for him was to get there in January, where things were kind of introduced to him and having that semester ahead, rather than coming in the summer and really being a freshman, trying to pick up the pace and the pattern.”
Campbell jumped into a situation this spring where the Gators relied heavily upon him in the interior. With Caleb Brantley opting to turn pro and Joey Ivie graduating, as well as two more defensive tackles from the 2017 class in T.J. Slaton and Elijah Conliffe not arriving until the summer, Florida entered the spring somewhat shorthanded at defensive tackle.
While Khairi Clark and Taven Bryan were the starters, Campbell took reps with the second-string defensive line alongside fellow tackle Luke Ancrum.
“He’s just transitioning into a good situation,” Wortham said. “He’s happy about his transition within the spring. His biggest task, he said, was to learn the environment, learn the atmosphere, learn the lay of the land but continue to strive to be a great student and soak in all the concepts.
“He’s a guy who understands his role. Kyree is a guy with patience and he knows when he’s needed full time it’s going to happen for him.”
Throughout the spring, Campbell’s coaches and teammates saw him gradually ease his way into the college level and grow more comfortable in Florida’s defensive schemes.
“He’s doing pretty good,” Rumph said during the spring. “At first he was a little nervous trying to feel himself out but actually I’m making him workout with Taven and Khairi Clark. Just to bring him along. They just, he’s like a little brother they’re just dragging him along. He’s picking it up. He’s going to be alright. I’m pleased with him so far.”
Junior defensive lineman CeCe Jefferson shared the same sentiment about the 6-foot-3, 323-pound Campbell.
“He’s a big dude,” explained Jefferson. “It’s going to take him some time, because he’s still fresh. It’s going to take him some time to get it together. But when he does, he’s going to be a name to remember.
“It’s just a joy watching him come in, just taking it day by day, progressing, trying to get better, because I was once in those shoes. I had the older guys watching me, helping me. He’s a coachable guy. He doesn’t turn down any help. He’s a great guy and I think he’s going to be great.”
In the Orange & Blue Debut, Campbell pieced together an overall solid outing. As the 2’s on defense frequently worked against the first-team offense, Campbell generated some disruption and gave starting center T.J. McCoy a good challenge in the spring game. The Woodbridge native would finish with one tackle, which came on the first play of the game as he stopped running back Jordan Scarlett short on a 1-yard run.
“He’s got great size but he’s very strong and then he runs very well,” Kelly said. “We didn’t do any contact because it’s a small prep school, so he’d kill somebody if we went live, but I could see that he had all of the athleticism that he needed to play at that level. He has all of the physical tools. He has the work ethic.”
Wortham is confident that his former player will make an impact early on with the Gators.
“He’s prepared to play either or - nose, 0 shade, 3-technique, 1 or 2. Whatever they need in that interior, he’s got experience behind it. That’s a good thing for Florida,” Wortham said.
“I don’t think he’ll be a guy there that’ll sit too long. I think he’ll be a guy in a rotating role sooner than later because fresh bodies help you win games. When you’ve got experienced guys like Campbell, you’re not going to allow those guys to sit too long.”
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