For Charles Campbell, Striving For Perfection Seems Like Right Thing To Do

During his first year as a starter in 2020, Indiana kicker Charles Campbell was a second-team All-Big Ten choice and only missed one kick all season – but now he wants to be even better.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Kickers are a different breed, and that's always been the case in football at every level. Charles Campbell is no different.

The Indiana redshirt junior from Jackson,  Tenn., took full advantage of his first year as a starter in 2020. He made 10-of-11 field goals and all 25 extra points during the Hoosiers' 6-2 season.

He was named a second-team All-Big Ten kicker – Connor Culp of Nebraskas was first – but there's the rub. As the Hoosier tick closer to starting their 2021 season on Sept. 4 at Iowa, Campbell not only wants more, but he expects more.

Why be second-team all-conference when first team is an option? Why make 90.9 percent of your kicks when the goal is to make them all?

That, in a snapshot, is exactly how he's wired.

"I had a good season last season, but it's last season. You’ve got to move forward,'' Campbell said. "I did miss a kick and, obviously, I don’t want to do that. I did well last season and I kind of want to back it up.

"I don’t want to think of exactly all the things I did last season leading up into this season and I just want to go out there, do what I know how to do and be confident in myself and my ability and if I do that, I think that I’ll make some more kicks than I miss.''

No kicker is perfect, of course, Even Adam Vinatieri, the NFL's all-time leading scorer and best kicker ever, missed 116 kicks in his pro career (out of 715). But for Campbell, he breaks everything down mentally, and focuses on one kick at a time. 

He knows his job, knows his role. And he plans on success, one kick at a time.

"Practice is real long, and you can’t kick the entire time, but I work hard on staying engaged,'' Campbell said. "On the sideline, I’m trying to take mental reps, trying to put myself in a situation of ‘what would this kick be like?' or "what would that kick be like?’ and try to feel the flow of practice. 

"Coach (Tom) Allen does a great job creating game-like situations during practice, so I really just try to visualize myself in a game making kicks or in a game trying to not feel anxious going out there and go out there for a long field goal for the win.''

Campbell's operation has a new piece this year in holder Chase Wyatt. The pair, along with snapper Sean Wracher, who's one of the best in the business, are fine-tuning the routine. "We're just getting the operation down and being as consistent as possible,'' Campbell said.

The physical part is all about mechanics and repetition. Campbell has that all figured out, and it's not an issue. He's accurate, and has a big leg, which he proved in the Outback Bowl last January with a record 53-yard field goal.

What he has learned over time, though, is that the mental part of the game matters even more. That took time to learn, even for someone who was considered one of the best kickers in the country coming out of high school, where he was ranked in the top-five or better in several recruiting services.

He redshirted in 2018 after being beaten out by Logan Justus. In 2019, Justus won the job again, and made his first 14 kicks that year, but then had a meltdown in the Old Oaken Bucket game at Purdue, missing three straight kicks. So Allen called on Campbell, who had made just one kick all season – in the 52-0 blowout of Eastern Illinois in September – to make a kick with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, and Campbell nailed the 41-yard kick right down the middle. Indiana later won 44-41 in double overtime.

That's being ready, no matter the sitauation.

"I feel like my first year I came in and I was a little hesitant with college football,'' he said. "I came in with all these accolades coming up and I felt like I missed an opportunity that I could have taken up and seized. Logan Justus beat me out my first fall camp and the second one, and I really feel like it was my mental more than my physical.''

He's worked hard on the mental part of the game, and he's ready for any circumstance now. It's a luxury to have a kicker with ice water running through his veins. 

"He’s a very confident young man, but you’ve got to remind him that this season is a brand-new season,'' Indiana special teams coach Kasey Teergardin said. "He was second-team All-Big Ten last year, not first team. You want something to strive for, have a goal. Obviously, he wants to be first-team All-Big Ten. 

"I think [head] coach [Tom] Allen does a tremendous job of keeping our guys level-headed and challenging them. Just because you get these preseason accolades doesn’t mean anything for this year. It’s great, but it’s based off what you’ve done in the past. What’re you doing now? What’re you doing in the present. You’ve got to play in the present every single day.''

Teegardin loves his make-up, and he has full faith in Campbell. "For him, he’s a confident kid, but he’s very levelheaded. He’s not arrogant. He just goes about his business and his job. For him, it’s just a constant reminder that this is a new season. He's just like the Indiana Hoosiers, who are 0-0. The preseason ranking is great, but how are we going to finish? It's the same for him.

Allen, who's been a special teams coach himself through the years, knows the value of that unit, and quality special teams work during practice is a must for him. 

It means a lot to the kicking unit, of course, and the punt team and return groups, too. It is, without a doubt, a priority on this team.

"We have periods in practice where we know certain teams are live, so,guys are just sitting on edge. He may call you and he may not,'' Teegardin said. "He may say PAT/field goal could be up this period. We try to put them in those game situations as much as possible just for the mental stability of things. 

"He’s already a pretty confident young man. His mind is ready to answer the call when called upon. We try to create those opportunities throughout practice as much as we can.''

Indiana opens the season on Sept. 4 at Iowa City. The game starts at 3:30 p.m. ET, and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. As of Tuesday morning, Iowa is a 3.5-point favorite according to sports gambling website FanDuel.com. The over/under is 46.5 points.

Related stories on Indiana football

• BIG TEN POWER RANKINGS: The 2021 college football season has arrived, so it's time to release our preseason Big Ten power rankings. It's no surprise that Ohio State, the four-time defending champion, is No. 1 but there are surprises after that CLICK HERE
• MEDIA PICKS OHIO STATE, WISCONSIN: During Big Ten Media Days, Ohio State was the unanimous pick to win the Big Ten East, and Wisconsin got 29 of the 34 votes as the best in the Big Ten West. CLICK HERE
• ASSOCIATED PRESS POLL: Ohio State was the highest ranked Big Ten team, checking in at No. 4 and claiming one first-place vote. There were five conference teams in the top-25, including Indiana for the first time since 1969. CLICK HERE
• COACHES POLL: Ohio State was the only Big Ten team in the top 14, but there were five teams overall in the preseason coaches poll. Two other teams also received votes. CLICK HERE