Last season, Winona football coach Joey Tompkins started the season with Jalen Campbell at outside linebacker.
But after Leflore County scored 56 points against the Tigers, Tompkins moved Campbell back to inside linebacker. That moved helped spur the Tigers to seven straight wins and a spot in the MSAA Class 2A championship game. And entering his senior season, Campbell is the unquestioned leader of the Winona defense, making him the latest addition to The Winona Times/Carrolton Conservative Top 10 Players to Watch list for the upcoming football season.
“He is a baller, that’s for sure,” Tompkins said. “We had him a little out of position last year. We started the year with him at outside linebacker. You move him inside and he is a guy that can control the A-gap. People in our division know who he is. They know who No. 5 is. He is a big-time playmaker for us.”
That move to inside linebacker helped Campbell finish with 109 tackles and eight for loss. Campbell was also a standout on offense as he rushed for 657 yards on 81 carries and scored eight touchdowns.
“Last year, he was our best defensive player and it wasn’t even close,” Tompkins said. “It goes through him. He is our best running back when it comes down to it. We aren’t going to play him a lot back there because we have two young running backs who will get most of the reps. And that’s because he is so valuable to us on defense at middle linebacker.”
Campbell is not only the leader of the Winona defense, he is the team leader off the field.
"He is the definition of a leader, I’ll tell you that,” Tompkins said. “He is never going to miss anything. Last year, during our dead week. I come on Monday of a dead week to the field house and I look out there and he is out there doing bag drills. There is nobody out there. I have kids who would text me to ask if they could come and that’s not him. He doesn’t care if anybody sees him, he just wants to get better.”
When it comes to getting better, Campbell excels in the weight room.
“He is very strong, he’s a 360 pound bencher and will squat close to 600 pounds,” Tompkins said. “In the weight room, he’s the alpha dog out there. In spring, we normally hit a lot but I didn’t with those guys because they are so physical. He’s just a really strong kid. He may not be the best athlete we have and I pick at him about that. He’s not the fastest guy, but he’s going to work on that to get better.”
Campbell said he just can’t think about the possibility of somebody outworking him.
“I stay in the weight room and I love the weight room,” Campbell said. “I have to stay worked out, you never know who is going to outwork you. I used to do pushups in the morning but I’ve been getting up and running in the morning. Instead of working on my strength, which is already good, I’ve been working on my speed.”
Tompkins said he thinks Campbell, who stands at 6-foot-0, 200 pounds, can and will play college football somewhere. Campbell, has already made an 18 on the ACT and would like to major in communications and be a broadcaster.
“He will play college ball somewhere, whether it be junior college or Division II school,” Tompkins said. “Hopefully he will go JUCO because after two years in JUCO, I think he can play at a smaller Division I school. Southern Miss looked at him but I don’t think they will offer him. He’s not real old so hopefully, he will get faster and get some flexibility.”
Campbell’s crowning moment came in the North half championship with a 22-14 win over Calhoun City.
“I have never experienced anything like that before,” Campbell said. “That was the loudest I have ever heard the crowd. I have never heard it that loud and I have been going to games all my life. I live just a couple of blocks from here. It was up there with the state championship game.
“I got the last tackle. I was on the away side and ran all the way to the other side and ran in the bleacher and hugged my parents. That was special. We knew that was our first time to go to the championship.”
With the Tigers moving up to Class 3A and playing a majority of road games, Campbell said he knows he’s going to have to be a leader.
“It’s going to take a lot more than last year, we know that,” Campbell said. “Last year, we had some great players. Our quarterback was a three-year starter and he was a great player. We have 20 something players coming back but we know we have to be leaders. With consolidation, we have to be leaders and have to work harder. Going to the championship was last year, all that does is put a big target on our backs.
