Hoosiers Now

Former Indiana Kicker Charles Campbell Transfers to Tennessee

Charles Campbell will play his last season of college football in his home state, transferring from Indiana to Tennessee.

Jack Ankony

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Former Indiana kicker Charles Campbell announced Wednesday that he is transferring to the University of Tennessee. Campbell, a Jackson, Tenn. native, will spend his sixth and final year of collegiate eligibility with the Volunteers and coach Josh Heupel.

Tennessee is coming off its first 10-win season since 2007 and first time ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll since 2001. The Volunteers jumped to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings on Nov. 1 following notable wins over LSU, Alabama and Kentucky. But after losing to Georgia and South Carolina, Tennessee dropped out of the College Football Playoff and will face Clemson in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30.

Aside from playing for his home-state school, Tennessee's situation at kicker was obviously a deciding factor for Campbell. Tennessee kicker Chase McGrath is wrapping up his sixth and final year of college football, creating an opening for Campbell to step in and play right away.

After using a redshirt season, Campbell first made a name for himself during the 2019 Old Oaken Bucket game at Purdue when he replaced Logan Justus, who missed all three field goal attempts. Campbell confidently nailed a 44-yard field goal in cold and rainy conditions to give Indiana a 31-23 lead with 5:08 left in regulation. Indiana would go on to win 44-41 in overtime, its most recent win over Purdue.

For the next three seasons, Campbell was a steady presence for Indiana's special teams unit. He finished his Indiana career a perfect 73-for-73 on extra points and 39-for-51 on field goals. Campbell is eighth among Indiana kickers with 39 made field goals, and he's ranks second in program history behind Pete Stoyanovich with five career 50-yard field goals.

Campbell drilled a 55-yard field goal at Maryland on Oct. 30, 2021, which is tied with Scott Bonnell for the second-longest field goal in program history behind Griffin Oakes' 58-yard kick in 2014. Campbell memorably hit a 51-yard game-winning field goal in overtime to defeat Western Kentucky and move Indiana to 3-0 early in the 2022 season.

Campbell went 3-for-3 against Illinois and 4-for-4 against Western Kentucky, but had an uncharacteristic end to the 2022 season, going 1-for-2 against Michigan State and 1-for-3 on Saturday against Purdue. 

With Campbell gone, Indiana will likely turn to incoming freshman Nicolas Radicic, the No. 3 kicker in the class of 2023, according to Kohl's Professional Camps. Radicic is a senior at Coppell High School in Texas and like Campbell, he'll play in the 2023 All-American Bowl.

Related stories on Indiana football

  • TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER: In our Indiana football transfer portal tracker, you can find a complete list of Hoosiers that have entered the transfer portal, declared for the NFL Draft, exhausted their collegiate eligibility and players that are transferring to Indiana for the 2023 season. We will frequently update this list throughout the offseason. CLICK HERE
  • MULLEN DECLARES FOR NFL DRAFT: After four seasons at Indiana, first-team All-American cornerback Tiawan Mullen declared for the NFL Draft on Wednesday. CLICK HERE
  • MCCULLOUGH IN TRANSFER PORTAL: Dasan McCullough was the highest-ranked recruit in program history, but he's leaving the Indiana football program after one season. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA HIRES O-LINE COACH BOSTAD: Indiana football announced on Friday that Bob Bostad will be the team's new offensive line coach and run game coordinator. Bostad has experience at Wisconsin and with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans, among other stops. CLICK HERE
  • DEXTER WILLIAMS UPDATE: Indiana football gave an injury update on redshirt sophomore quarterback Dexter Williams II, who suffered a right knee injury on Saturday against Purdue. CLICK HERE
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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.

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