Jack Campbell Learning to 'Let It Sit' After Practice

Jack Campbell is continuing to get acclimated to Aaron Glenn's playbook.

Rookie linebacker Jack Campbell is involved in one of the biggest battles in Lions training camp: the battle for who will start alongside Detroit middle linebacker Alex Anzalone.

Although Campbell was the No. 18 overall pick in this past April’s NFL Draft, it doesn’t mean he’ll automatically win the job. Instead, he’ll have to earn every single rep he gets as a member of Aaron Glenn’s defense.

It’s a lesson that Campbell first learned during his time at the University of Iowa.

As he told reporters Sunday, during his media session at the Lions’ Allen Park practice facility, “(When) you show up, you’re expected to do what you’re expected to do. There’s no excuses.”

Campbell left an indelible mark on the Hawkeyes football program.

In fact, in four seasons and 43 career games (28 starts) at Iowa, he produced 305 total tackles, including 13.5 for loss.

Additionally, in his final campaign with the Hawkeyes, he received an 85.6 grade against the run and a 92.9 mark in coverage from Pro Football Focus. He was also the recipient of the Butkus Award, which is annually awarded to college football's top linebacker.

Now, Campbell and the Lions both are hopeful that his success in college carries over to the professional ranks.

As he progresses throughout training camp, he plans to soak up as much as possible from Detroit’s veteran linebackers, including Anzalone.

“I would say when I go out there, (I’m) just like soaking it in,” Campbell expressed on Day 7 of training camp Sunday. “Kind of hearing how Alex goes through things, boy, (what) he sees, the checks he makes, the same with Derrick Barnes, ‘Rodrigo’ (Malcolm Rodriguez), ‘JRM’ (Jalen Reeves-Maybin), ‘Pitt’ (Anthony Pittman), all the guys. I’m definitely missing a few. Just hearing how the veterans go through things, especially a guy like JRM, who’s been in the league for seven years, or Pitt. They’ve been in the league a long time, so just trying to figure out how they do it. For me, just trying to learn along the way.

“So, any time I get to play with the ‘1’s’ (the starters), it’s another great opportunity to see what the ‘1’ (first-team) offense looks like. There’s not a huge drop-off between ‘1’s’ and ‘2’s’ in the NFL, but still just like seeing best vs. best. So, that’s been good to kind of get that experience.”

Campbell has already picked up a variety of solid habits from the Lions’ group of experienced linebackers. Yet, the one thing that has stood out to him the most thus far has been not to watch any film of himself right after practice.

“The one thing I’ve picked up is right when practice is done, don’t pop on the tape because you’d be emotional about it,” the former Big Ten linebacker said. “So, I kind of just sometimes, I kind of get caught up in trying to look at a play right after practice. But, I kind of learned to let it sit, (because) you still have an hour. So, shower, do some body maintenance and then come back and look at it, because you’re looking at it with an unbiased perspective (at that point).”

For Campbell right now, the two most important things he can do are continuing to get acclimated to Glenn’s playbook and further strengthening his fundamentals.

From all accounts, the rookie has done a solid job of just that through his first week of camp. And, as he put it Sunday: He’s “just trying to be the best version” of himself each day he takes the field.