Penn State Football Lands Transfer Portal Standout Amare Campbell: “He’s a Banger, Man”
On Tuesday, Penn State Football landed one of the most coveted Linebackers out of the Transfer Portal. That’s when former North Carolina Tar Heel, Amare Campbell announced his commitment to the Nittany Lions.
Recently, NittanyCentral caught up with Campbell‘s high school coach, Carroll Walker.
Walker, talked all things Amare Campbell and had a lot of good insight into Campbell’s profile as a player.
Coach Carroll Walker was the Coach at Unity Reed in Virginia for 8 years. He led many successful playoff campaigns and coached special talent. He stepped away from coaching in February to focus on other things in his life, but still stays in touch with Amare Campbell.
The Scouting Report on Amare Campbell
When it comes to Campbell, no one is more familiar with his game, than his former coach, Carroll Walker. Walker has been watching Campbell play for a very long time, so he knows Campbell’s game well.
“He knows how to go to the football.” Walker tells NittanyCentral, describing Amare Campbell’s game. “He’s smart, he can cover, he can recognize offensive scheme.”
Walker continued on to talk about another strength of Campbell’s Versatility.
“To be honest with you,” Walker says. “He’s versatile … I think he can play a little bit of both [outside and inside Linebacker]. He has good feet to be outside, he can come down off the edge. He can do a lot of things versatile. Then, middle, he can read the ball, get in the hole and be a game stopper. So, I think he’s versatile.
“He’s definitely a banger man, the kid can play.” Walker reminiscing on Campbell’s high school years. “He also played offense and stuff, but defensively, that’s his game and that’s where he’s going to earn the money, playing defense.”
Not only did Campbell have a great prep career, but Walker was not shy about Campbell’s potential.
“I think he is a great addition to the college level, and could be a great addition to the NFL level as well.” Said Walker. Time will tell what Amare Campbell’s future holds, but Penn State Football sure hopes they can turn him into an NFL player.
One of the most valuable things Amare Campbell brings is, leadership. Walker said this. “He’s very humble and brings leadership and awareness to the game. He’ll bring that ole school 4 of July big boom hit.”
It started in Youth Football
“It’s a good relationship,” Walker said, describing his and Amare Campbell’s relationship. “Watching him grow up through the youth league. You know, when he played youth football. I’ve been watching him for a long time and you know, kind of made some friendship there.”
Walker said that when it was time for Campbell to go to high school, Unity Reed was the place for him.
“As it was time for him to go to high school, me and Dad (Amare Campbell’s Father), got together. Come to find out [Campbell] and a couple, few other players, came to the school (Unity Reed). That’s how it really started,” Walker described.
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Amare Campbell’s High School Career
Walker and Campbell’s relationship only continued to bloom.
“To be honest with you, he was good as a young freshman.” Walker said. “He learned, he learned real quick. I’m one of those coaches, I like to take my young kids and turn them loose. Let them go ahead and grow with mistakes, find out what he can do and what he can’t do as a young athlete.”
Walker knew that Campbell was a legit talent.
“Watching him over the years, I knew that this kid was very talented. I think he has what it takes to make it to the next level.” Said Walker.
Walker was able to capitalize on Campbell’s talent. Unity Reed made it to the second round of the playoffs a few times during Campbell’s prep career. Due to Unity Reed’s location, a lot of talent gets split up, making it harder to win games. Walker was proud of what Unity Reed was able to accomplish during Campbell’s time.
“We went to the second round playoffs with Amare.” Said Walker. “He led us a lot. [Campbell] was defensive player of the year, co-defensive player of the year when he was here.”
Coming out of high school, Campbell chose North Carolina as his next stop. During his time in Chapel Hill, Campbell made a major impact in two years. Once he entered the Transfer Portal, he was too good of a talent for Penn State to pass up.
MORE Penn State Football News from NittanyCentral:
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Penn State Football Lands No. 1 Spot in Joel Klatt’s Post-Spring College Football Rankings
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Penn State Football Defensive Depth Chart Projection: Post-Spring Transfer Portal Shake-Up
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Purdy was born and raised in central Ohio and served for four years writing for his high school's newsletter. Currently studying Biblical Studies at Lancaster Bible College in Pennsylvania, Ian has been a lifelong Nittany Lion fan.