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Published Mar 17, 2021
Tyson Campbell hopes to crack first round of NFL draft
Jason Butt  •  UGASports
Staff

Tyson Campbell isn’t one to jaw with the opponents.

Instead, he’d rather play his style of football at cornerback and let that speak for itself. However, after his pro day performance on Wednesday, Campbell was asked if there's something about his game that NFL teams should know, that doesn't present itself on film.

Campbell's response was that he didn’t want his lack of vocalizing on the football field to be seen as some sort of passive behavior.

“I would say I’m a dog,” Campbell said. “I think people misconstrued by that, just because I let my play do the talking. But I’m a fierce competitor.”

Campbell, a former five-star prospect who declared for the NFL draft after his junior season, is hoping he did enough to propel himself into the first-round conversation. Campbell’s blazing speed was once again on display; he said he was told he clocked times between 4.34 and 4.39 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He measured well for a cornerback, checking in at 6-foot-1, 193 pounds and 32-inch arms.

When it comes to his physical traits, NFL Media draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said Campbell possesses every tangible quality teams are looking for. However, Jeremiah believes there are unanswered questions about Campbell’s ability to defend the deep ball.

“The height, weight, speed are off the charts. He has phenomenal play speed,” Jeremiah said during a UGASports.com podcast with Jim Donnan and Dayne Young. “You can see it when he has to recover. The issue with me is he had a lot of blood on his hands down the field. Against Alabama, [Jaylen] Waddle got him. Campbell just gave up plays vertically. My question is: Can he really find and play the ball? I don’t have any questions about his athletic ability. I think he's smooth and tough. He can play a little inside and a little outside. To me, that's the big question on him—do you trust him to find the ball downfield? I love everything else. I think he goes in the second round.”

This concern was something Campbell wanted to put to rest during Wednesday’s pro day.

“I think the main one was just to show my DB skills, to get out of the air that I don’t have ball skills,” Campbell said. “I wanted to show how smooth and fluid and quick I am out of my breaks.”

For now, it seems Campbell is considered a day two prospect with a great chance of being taken in the second round. However, he’s hopeful his pro day performance helped sway some teams into thinking he's worthy of being a first-round selection.

“Of course I want to be a first-rounder,” Campbell said. “At the end of the day, I’m leaving it in God’s hands, and hopefully I get the call for a team and get blessed for them to give me an opportunity.”

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