Cam Camper Named to Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Preseason Watch List

Indiana wide receiver Cam Camper has been named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award preseason watch list for the 2023 college football season. The award is presented annually to the best offensive player in the sport with a connection to Texas, the home state of Earl Campbell.

Another day, another Indiana football player on a preseason award watch list. 

Indiana wide receiver Cam Camper was named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award 2023 preseason watch list on Thursday. The award is given each season to the best offensive player in college football with a connection to Texas, the home state of the award's namesake — Earl Campbell. 

A nominee for the Campbell Award must meet at least one of the following three criteria:

1. The nominee must have been born in Texas.
2. The nominee must have graduated from a Texas high school.
3. The nominee must have played football at a college based in Texas.

As a graduate of Lancaster High School in Texas, Camper meets criteria No. 2 on that list, and was rightfully added to the preseason watch list. 

Integrity. Performance. Teamwork. Sportsmanship. Drive. Community. Tenacity.@Camp1k_ is on the @CampbellAward Watch List. pic.twitter.com/SqQTBwGvko

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) August 17, 2023

The award was first handed out in 2013, when it was won by Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty. It has been predominantly won by players from the Big 12 in its decade long existence, including in 2022, when TCU's Max Duggan took home the award.

Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins is the only Big Ten player to have ever won the Campbell Award, taking it home in 2019.

According to the website dedicated to the award, it is handed out each season to a player, "Who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community, and tenacity; specifically tenacity to persist and determination to overcome adversity and injury in pursuit of reaching goals."

After two seasons at Trinity Valley Community College in Athens, Texas, Camper transferred to Indiana to play for coach Tom Allen and the Hoosiers during the 2022 offseason. 

Camper only played in seven games during the 2022 season before missing the remainder of the year with a torn ACL. However, he solidified himself as one of the most talented weapons on the offense in that short time, racking up 46 receptions for 569 yards and two touchdowns in those seven games.

Camper was particularly dominant in the season opening win over Illinois. Coach Bret Bielema's team had the best scoring defense in the entire country in 2022, and the No. 5 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft — Devon Witherspoon. Yet, in his first ever game at IU, Camper torched the Illini for 11 receptions and 156 yards, setting the new program record for receiving yards in a player's Indiana debut. 

Camper also had a 10-reception, 126-yard performance against Cincinnati, and an eight-reception, 93-yard outing against Western Kentucky. 

A look at Cam Camper’s TD catch in the final minute. #iufb pic.twitter.com/8SJt27FUTq

— Kevin Vera (@thekevinvera) September 17, 2022

Camper is one of six Big Ten players on the 2023 Campbell Award preseason watch list, along with Purdue's Hudson Card, Penn State's Omari Evans, Ohio State's Donovan Jackson, Wisconsin's Tanner Mordecai and Illinois's Casey Washington.

The star wide receiver has been wearing a blue jersey at fall camp practice as he returns from his season-ending injury. However, he said earlier in August that he plans to be at a "full go" for the Hoosiers week one matchup with Ohio State.

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