Awards season for Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell was one not to be soon forgotten by anyone in Iowa City. The senior captain of the Hawkeyes earned numerous postseason individual honors. After the Associated Press released its All-American team last week, Campbell became the school’s 29th player to be tabbed a Consensus All-American, having made three of the five certified All-American teams. Tuesday, the AFCA/Coaches poll became the fifth of the certified polls to make him a first-team All-American. That means Campbell is a unanimous All-American after appearing on all five of the certified All-American Teams this postseason. He is Iowa’s 19th Unanimous All-American selection.
Season Statistics
Campbell finished the 2022 season with 118 total tackles, good for third-best in the conference. He also had two interceptions -one that should have counted as a pick-six – a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and 3.5 tackles for loss. His career total of 295 tackles is 19th all time at Iowa. Campbell will play in the Music City Bowl on New Year’s Eve and has a chance to add to those totals.
After the season came to a close, Campbell was awarded the Nagurski-Wooden Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Award along with the Butkus-Fitzgerald Big Ten Linebacker of the Year Award. The Cedar Falls, Iowa native was named to the All-Big Ten First Team for the second season in a row.
National Awards
Campbell then found himself in line for several national awards. On December 6th, the linebacker received one of the most prestigious national awards, the William V. Campbell Trophy. The award is presented to the nation’s top scholar-athlete. It is presented to an athlete for their accomplishments on the field, in the classroom, and for their leadership qualities. Campbell will complete his degree in December of this year in enterprise leadership. He has a 3.49 GPA, and is also minoring in sports and recreation management. Campbell becomes the first Hawkeye to earn the award in its 33-year history. Many regard the William V. Campbell Trophy as the “Academic Heisman.”
Two days later, Campbell received a call from Dick Butkus himself. The Hall of Fame linebacker congratulated Campbell on winning the prestigious Butkus Award presented to the nation’s top linebacker. Campbell became the first Iowa recipient of this award as well. Former Hawkeyes Larry Station, Chad Greenway, and Josey Jewell were named semifinalists during their time at Iowa.
In addition to earning the two national awards, Campbell was also voted a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award and the Lombardi Award.
All-American Status
The five All-American teams certified by the National Football Foundation began their release at the end of last week. The five certified teams are voted upon by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Associated Press (AP), Sporting News, and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). Campbell was named to the first team on Walter Camp, FWAA, and AP. This solidified his status as a consensus First-Team All-American. With that, the Hawkeyes have made it four seasons in a row with a consensus All-American. The previous three were Keith Duncan in 2019, Daviyon Nixon in 2020, and Tyler Linderbaum in 2021.
In the next two days, the Sporting News and Coaches Association released their All-American teams. Campbell was again among the first team honorees. His selection to the five All-American teams earned him Unanimous All-American status. The linebacker became the 19th Unanimous All American from the University of Iowa. It also made for the third-straight season the Hawkeyes had a unanimous selection. Nixon and Linderbaum in 2020 and 2021 were the other two.
Unanimous All-American Jack Campbell
Campbell will wrap up a storied career on New Year’s Eve. It is anticipated to be his final game in a Hawkeye uniform. He confirmed he would play in Iowa’s bowl back on November 25th. He cited it as being one more opportunity for the team that he is looking forward to. Campbell was also invited to this season’s Senior Bowl. It takes place in Mobile, Alabama on February 4th of next year.
