Aidan Hutchinson celebrated his first sack of the season last week by busting out the Stanky Legg. Jack Campbell celebrated the first sack of his career by running off the field and straight into the Lions' locker room. As they say, different strokes for different folks.
Hutchinson, the defensive end from Michigan, seeks the spotlight. Campbell, the linebacker from Iowa, would play football in the dark.
"I mean, I feel like that’s who I am," Campbell said Monday. "I don’t know. I just got up. It was halftime. Just get ready to go for the next half."
Campbell's sack, a chase-down of Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder, was "just a hustle play," he said. It punctuated Detroit's best defensive half of the season, which Campbell punctuated by briefly pointing toward the Lions' sideline -- literally directing attention away from himself -- before sprinting up the tunnel. He calls his all-business approach "a blueprint of all the people who have poured into my life, whether that be my family, the coaches at the University of Iowa, and now here."
"I feel like I’m just kind of who I was mentored by," said Campbell, 23. "That’s just how I was brought up: I’m always trying to look to do another thing."
Similar to his demeanor, Campbell has had a rather quiet start to his career. The 18th overall pick may one day be the heartbeat of the Lions' defense, but the team is easing him into action behind Alex Anzalone and Derrick Barnes. Campbell did play a season-high 38 snaps in Detroit's win over the Falcons, lined up mostly on the defensive line as a pass rusher. This is something new for Campbell, who's been an off-ball linebacker his entire life.
"Obviously I haven’t got a lot of experience (as an) on-the-ball backer. But right now, I'm taking anything that’s been given to me," he said. "Whatever role I get, I'm going to own it to the best of my ability and just be that piece of the defense that if the coaches expect that out of me, they’re going to get that out of me. Right now, obviously, starting to morph into some pass rush stuff, setting edges."
Campbell said he's "still focusing on the inside backer" position, which is where the Lions envision him long-term. In the meantime, the experience he's gaining up front and on the edge will serve him well.
"Honestly, it helps me learn the whole defense," he said. "Because now that I'm playing a different position, I know what they’re feeling when I’m back in the middle."
Campbell has also clocked in on special teams, covering kicks and punts. He's not too good for the grunt work. Of course he isn't. This is the same first-round pick who said, outside of football, "I like to go to church, hang out with friends and hunt." The same born-and-bred Iowan who said his favorite part of Lambeau Field, where the Lions play Thursday night against the Packers, is that "it's an outdoor stadium." A grass field brings dirt.
Some players would rather avoid special teams, where the toil doesn't shine. Campbell talks about it with a twinkle in his eye.
“Special teams is so fun because it’s literally just a mentality of you're lining up across from another guy and it’s who wants it more," he said. "Obviously, you’re playing at the professional level, you’re not going to win every rep, but for me, I’m just trying to go out there and show the coaches with the Lions and also the NFL and the fans who they’re getting in a player. On the special teams unit, it’s full effort."
Over the past few weeks, Campbell's coaches have been reminding him to have fun. He can be that serious. His teammates have been trying to get him to loosen up: "He's funny," said Barnes, when he chooses to speak. Barnes said that whenever he saw Campbell off the field during training camp, "he's just sitting at his locker with his head down, no phone, no nothing."
"I’m like, ‘Jack, you alright?’ He just looks up and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ Puts his head down and just stares," Barnes said with a laugh. "I’m like, 'Alright, Jack, we gotta get you to talk more.'"
Campbell has relaxed a little bit since, grown more comfortable in his surroundings. He's also learned to cut himself some slack when he makes inevitable rookie mistakes. Asked where he's grown the most since camp, Campbell said, "Just with the mentality of trying to move on and not sit on a negative play."
"I feel like right now, that’s the most growth I’ve seen in myself, is just trying to bounce back," he said. "If a play doesn’t go my way, get ready for the next snap, just don’t let it keep irritating me and my mental."
Of course, this is who Campbell is, a stern, head-down grinder, a worker who expects to get the job done. To Campbell, football is serious stuff. It's only fun if his team is winning.
"Right now, I’m not worried about what I’m doing," he said. "I’m worried about what the team is doing and what the defense is doing, because I know ultimately, if we want to reach where we’re going to reach, you can’t have people thinking on an individual basis."