Lehigh University Athletics
Setting the example that success must be earned
10/1/2014 11:04:00 AM | Football
By Steve Lomangino
Note: This story originally appeared in the Sept. 6 Lehigh-James Madison game program
Laid back and mild-mannered, Lehigh senior outside linebacker and quad-captain Isaiah Campbell is not much of a talker. He prefers to lead by example and let his actions speak for themselves. Campbell and his classmates joined the Lehigh program on the heels of a Patriot League championship season. As freshmen, the Mountain Hawks won another title, but after coming up short in each of the last two seasons Campbell and the rest of the seniors are committed to earning a title in their final go around.
"We definitely have a huge chip on our shoulder," Campbell acknowledged. People say, 'they didn't earn it, they were just there.' We feel like we have to earn it. We haven't earned it these last two years. The number one goal for all the seniors is to lead this team to a championship, to show them how to win a championship and be able to say that we did it, since it's the end."
A Cherry Hill, N.J. native, Campbell has the distinction of playing for coach Coen both in high school, and in college. Before suiting up in the brown and white for Andy Coen, Campbell played running back and cornerback at Cherry Hill East for Tom Coen, Andy's younger brother. The relationship between brothers led to Cherry Hill East attending Lehigh's 7-on-7 camps and led to the mutual interest between Campbell and Lehigh.
"I hadn't really heard about Lehigh until I came to the camps before my senior year," Campbell said. "I liked that it was D-1. Playing D-1 was a goal of mine. Once I started researching it, the academics stood out. I wanted a school that was going to challenge me academically as well as athletically. My senior year of high school they won a championship, which was also encouraging."
Upon his arrival at Lehigh, Campbell remembers his freshman year as eye-opening; both in the size of the student-athletes at the Division I level and in the amount of work and preparation put in by the seniors on what would become Lehigh's 2011 Patriot League championship squad.
"My freshman year everyone was huge compared to high school," said Campbell, who is listed at 5-foot-10, and just under 200 lbs. "I was a safety behind Billy O'Brien and I thought he was huge. I just remember the first day of camp how everyone as so excited to be here. You hear how much camp can drag but everyone wanted to be there. The attitude was 'we're going to win this championship.' The preparation by that group was incredible and the games seemed so easy."
In the spring prior to his sophomore season, Campbell was moved from safety to the Will outside linebacker, which in Lehigh's defense functions as a linebacker-safety hybrid. He adapted to the position well, starting the first game of his sophomore year and holding the spot for two years. In 22 games, Campbell totaled 82 tackles, three sacks and a game-clinching interception in a 2013 win at Princeton.
"For someone who is short in stature, he is very strong and very explosive," head coach Andy Coen explained. "Over the past two years has been one of the more dynamic players on our football team."
Lehigh went 18-4 in that two year span, but lost de-facto championship games at home, costing the Mountain Hawks championship rings and postseason berths both times.
"The last two years we felt entitled," Campbell admitted. "We felt we were going to win but never worked for it. My freshman year we definitely worked for it. Now that I'm a senior, I'm trying to instill in these guys that everybody wants a championship but you have to earn it."
At the end of Lehigh's spring practice segment, Campbell was named a team captain. Like most, he found the honor humbling and noted that his parents were probably prouder of the honor than he was. While Lehigh's other captains are more fiery and vocal, Campbell prefers to be a leader by example.
"I don't see myself as a vocal leader," he said. "I try to lead by example and by doing the right things. I want to be known as a leader who said the hard things and did the hard things in order for the team to be successful.
He added, "This summer I worked harder than I've ever worked so I could set that example of where we need to be."
"He doesn't see himself as a vocal, outgoing type of guy," Coen said. "It was rewarding to him that people looked at the example he set on the football field. He has a toughness that a lot of people respect. There are times he winds up against a 6-foot-4 tight end and in those situations over the last couple of years he has actually handled himself pretty well."
Off the field, Campbell enrolled in Lehigh's College of Business and Economics. He initially planned to major in accounting but has switched to marketing and hopes to work in marketing for a popular brand name company after graduation,
In his spare time, Campbell enjoys going bowling with his teammates (he averages around 190 with a high score of 222) and watches a lot of movies (he lists Wreck-It Ralph, The Dark Knight and World War Z as his favorites). He longboards, he reads, he ice skates. A member of Chi Psi fraternity on campus with a number of his Lehigh teammates, Campbell appreciates friendships and relationships that have formed a positive Lehigh experience.
"The friendships I've built here are way closer than my high school relationships," Campbell said. "The football team is close-knit. Being with my teammates and living with the guys at Chi Psi has changed the way I look at life and inspired me to be a better person and a harder worker."
As he enters his senior season, Campbell hopes to help lead Lehigh back to the level the program was at when he arrived.
"I want to lead my team to a Patriot League Championship and to have success in the playoffs," he said. "At my position I don't make all the tackles. I'm not a stats guy. I'm there to make sure that the defense works. As long as I'm doing my part to make the defense successful I'll be happy."
Note: This story originally appeared in the Sept. 6 Lehigh-James Madison game program
Laid back and mild-mannered, Lehigh senior outside linebacker and quad-captain Isaiah Campbell is not much of a talker. He prefers to lead by example and let his actions speak for themselves. Campbell and his classmates joined the Lehigh program on the heels of a Patriot League championship season. As freshmen, the Mountain Hawks won another title, but after coming up short in each of the last two seasons Campbell and the rest of the seniors are committed to earning a title in their final go around.
"We definitely have a huge chip on our shoulder," Campbell acknowledged. People say, 'they didn't earn it, they were just there.' We feel like we have to earn it. We haven't earned it these last two years. The number one goal for all the seniors is to lead this team to a championship, to show them how to win a championship and be able to say that we did it, since it's the end."
A Cherry Hill, N.J. native, Campbell has the distinction of playing for coach Coen both in high school, and in college. Before suiting up in the brown and white for Andy Coen, Campbell played running back and cornerback at Cherry Hill East for Tom Coen, Andy's younger brother. The relationship between brothers led to Cherry Hill East attending Lehigh's 7-on-7 camps and led to the mutual interest between Campbell and Lehigh.
"I hadn't really heard about Lehigh until I came to the camps before my senior year," Campbell said. "I liked that it was D-1. Playing D-1 was a goal of mine. Once I started researching it, the academics stood out. I wanted a school that was going to challenge me academically as well as athletically. My senior year of high school they won a championship, which was also encouraging."
Upon his arrival at Lehigh, Campbell remembers his freshman year as eye-opening; both in the size of the student-athletes at the Division I level and in the amount of work and preparation put in by the seniors on what would become Lehigh's 2011 Patriot League championship squad.
"My freshman year everyone was huge compared to high school," said Campbell, who is listed at 5-foot-10, and just under 200 lbs. "I was a safety behind Billy O'Brien and I thought he was huge. I just remember the first day of camp how everyone as so excited to be here. You hear how much camp can drag but everyone wanted to be there. The attitude was 'we're going to win this championship.' The preparation by that group was incredible and the games seemed so easy."
In the spring prior to his sophomore season, Campbell was moved from safety to the Will outside linebacker, which in Lehigh's defense functions as a linebacker-safety hybrid. He adapted to the position well, starting the first game of his sophomore year and holding the spot for two years. In 22 games, Campbell totaled 82 tackles, three sacks and a game-clinching interception in a 2013 win at Princeton.
"For someone who is short in stature, he is very strong and very explosive," head coach Andy Coen explained. "Over the past two years has been one of the more dynamic players on our football team."
Lehigh went 18-4 in that two year span, but lost de-facto championship games at home, costing the Mountain Hawks championship rings and postseason berths both times.
"The last two years we felt entitled," Campbell admitted. "We felt we were going to win but never worked for it. My freshman year we definitely worked for it. Now that I'm a senior, I'm trying to instill in these guys that everybody wants a championship but you have to earn it."
At the end of Lehigh's spring practice segment, Campbell was named a team captain. Like most, he found the honor humbling and noted that his parents were probably prouder of the honor than he was. While Lehigh's other captains are more fiery and vocal, Campbell prefers to be a leader by example.
"I don't see myself as a vocal leader," he said. "I try to lead by example and by doing the right things. I want to be known as a leader who said the hard things and did the hard things in order for the team to be successful.
He added, "This summer I worked harder than I've ever worked so I could set that example of where we need to be."
"He doesn't see himself as a vocal, outgoing type of guy," Coen said. "It was rewarding to him that people looked at the example he set on the football field. He has a toughness that a lot of people respect. There are times he winds up against a 6-foot-4 tight end and in those situations over the last couple of years he has actually handled himself pretty well."
Off the field, Campbell enrolled in Lehigh's College of Business and Economics. He initially planned to major in accounting but has switched to marketing and hopes to work in marketing for a popular brand name company after graduation,
In his spare time, Campbell enjoys going bowling with his teammates (he averages around 190 with a high score of 222) and watches a lot of movies (he lists Wreck-It Ralph, The Dark Knight and World War Z as his favorites). He longboards, he reads, he ice skates. A member of Chi Psi fraternity on campus with a number of his Lehigh teammates, Campbell appreciates friendships and relationships that have formed a positive Lehigh experience.
"The friendships I've built here are way closer than my high school relationships," Campbell said. "The football team is close-knit. Being with my teammates and living with the guys at Chi Psi has changed the way I look at life and inspired me to be a better person and a harder worker."
As he enters his senior season, Campbell hopes to help lead Lehigh back to the level the program was at when he arrived.
"I want to lead my team to a Patriot League Championship and to have success in the playoffs," he said. "At my position I don't make all the tackles. I'm not a stats guy. I'm there to make sure that the defense works. As long as I'm doing my part to make the defense successful I'll be happy."
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