Dan Campbell Reveals How Many Prospects Have 'It Factor'

Dan Campbell reveals how many prospects have impressed him so far during interviews.
In this story:

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell certainly is not grading draft prospects based off of their performance on the field at the Scouting Combine. 

Teams gain significant knowledge about a player during meetings, where front office personnel and coaches can ascertain how much a player loves the game and how quickly they can pick up schematic installations. 

In the early part of the week, Lions head coach Dan Campbell expressed the team has met with nearly 40 prospects, but only a handful really stood out as having the "it" factor. 

"It's hard to put into words. I would say this: I don't know how many guys we've met with at this point," said Campbell. "Really over these two to three days, let's call it 30 guys, 35 guys. And I've check-marked four guys. And, to me, they got the 'it' factor. 

"Just when you sit in there and you hear them talk about football. There's a fire burning in them. They can't sit in their seat. They got to get up to talk," Campbell continued. "You watch the guys, you present them this mini-install before they get to the tape. Taking notes, asking questions and then, man, when you go, they throw the sheet down. Because to them, it's a competition. Like, I'm about to show you how good I can do this. I'm about to show you what I can retain. I'm going to show you that I understand what you're wanting me to do. And, those guys are rare. If you can find those guys and they've got some ability, which most guys here do, it's hard not to like them."


Published
John Maakaron
JOHN MAAKARON

John Maakaron has covered Detroit Sports since 2013. Brings a vast array of experience covering the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans, Detroit Mercy Titans, and Oakland University Golden Grizzlies. John brings a wealth of sports broadcast experience. In 2013, John had the vision to establish the Detroit Sports Podcast Network. Has recorded over 3000 podcasts analyzing Detroit Sports. In 2019, Sports Illustrated Media Group, a historical sports media outlet, partnered with Detroit Sports Podcast to provide daily Lions content for their growing and expanding digital media outlet. Our Lions content can also be read in the newspaper at The Oakland  Passionate about Detroit Sports and it is reflected in his coverage of the local teams!