University of Connecticut Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Wide Receivers
Erik Campbell is in his first season with the UConn football staff in 2016 and has position responsibility with the wide receivers. Campbell brings to UConn an extensive amount of experience in the college game, including long-time stints at Iowa and Michigan.
Campbell has been part of 26 postseason football games, including four bowl games as a student-athlete and 19 as a coach. Campbell has coached in four Rose Bowls and played in another. He also has coached in two Orange Bowls and played in a Fiesta Bowl.
In Marin McNutt at Iowa and Braylon Edwards at Michigan, Campbell coached two of the top receivers in Big Ten history. McNutt's 1,315 receiving yards in 2011 ranks seventh best for a single season in the Big Ten, while Edwards had 1,330 yards in 2004 for the sixth best single season total. Edwards leads all Big Ten receivers with 39 career touchdowns, while McNutt ranks 10th with 28 career scores.
Campbell was a member of the Michigan staff from 1995-2007 and again in 2015. He coached the wide receivers for the Wolverines during that time and was also the assistant head coach from 2003-07. He also worked with the team's punt returners. He was a member of the 1997 Michigan staff that won the national championship.
At Michigan, Campbell coached a 1,000-yard receiver an NCAA-record eight straight seasons (1998-2005), with Edwards becoming the ninth player in Division I-A history and the first player in Big Ten history to achieve three straight 1,000-yard seasons.
Campbell was a key factor in the punt return success of Steve Breaston, the Big Ten's career punt return leader. Breaston returned 127 punts for a conference record 1,599 yards (12.6 avg.) and four scores during his career.
Campbell coached three All-Americans during his tenure at Michigan -- David Terrell, Marquise Walker and Edwards. Edwards was also the winner of the 2004 Biletnikoff Award as the top wide receiver in college football. Campbell's players at Michigan earned All-Big Ten honors 18 times.
Campbell coached some of Michigan's top wide receivers in its program's history. His list of NFL products includes: Amani Toomer, a second-round draft pick of the New York Giants (1996); 1997 Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, a first-round pick of the Oakland Raiders (1998); Terrell, the eighth pick of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears; Edwards, the third pick of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns; Mario Manningham, a third-round pick of the New York Giants (2008).
From 2008-2014, Campbell was an assistant coach at Iowa, where he worked with the wide receivers and also the tight end in his first two seasons.
In 2011, McNutt was honored with the Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year award in the Big Ten Conference while being named first team All-Big Ten. The 2010 season marked the first time ever Iowa had two wide receivers earn All-Big Ten honors in the same season, as senior Derrell Johnson-Koulianos earned first team honors and McNutt was a second team selection.
In 2009, senior tight end Tony Moeaki (30-387 yards) earned first team All-Big Ten honors after having the best season of his career. Moeaki was one of eight semifinalists for the John Mackey Award.
Campbell was the wide receivers coach for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League in 2013-14. The team made the CFL playoffs both years as the 2014 Alouettes advanced to the Eastern Conference finals.
Campbell served as a student assistant coach at Michigan in 1988 before beginning his full-time coaching career as an assistant coach at Navy. Campbell spent two season's coaching running backs for Navy (1989-90) serving in the same position at Ball State (1991-93). Campbell coached one season at Syracuse (1994) before returning to Ann Arbor as the Wolverines' wide receivers coach.
As a collegiate player, Campbell was a four-year letterman (1984-87) at Michigan and started games on both sides of the ball. The Wolverines compiled a 35-13-1 record and won the 1986 Big Ten title while Campbell was a squad member. He is the only player in Michigan football history to start at all four secondary positions in one year.
Campbell saw the majority of his action at defensive back, starting 30 career games during his freshman, junior and senior seasons. He started the final 25 games of his career and added five starts as a true freshman. He completed his career with 113 tackles and five interceptions.
After collecting 29 tackles in five games as a freshman, Campbell switched to wide receiver for his sophomore campaign. He returned to the defensive secondary for the final two years of his career and saw plenty of action on special teams. He returned 13 punts for an average of 9.2 yards in 1985, and returned four kicks for an 18.5-yard average in 1986.
Campbell is a native of Gary, Ind., where he was a prep star at Roosevelt High School. He was an all-state selection in football and gained All-American honors in track after leading his team to back-to-back state championships. Campbell is a member of both the Indiana High School Track and Field Hall of Fame and the Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame.
He was recognized in his hometown of Gary, Ind. with the Benjamin Hooks Award, presented by the Gary chapter of the NAACP, during the spring of 2010.
Campbell earned his bachelor of general studies degree from Michigan in 1988.
Year-By-Year With Erik Campbell
| Year | School/Team | Position |
| 1989-90 | Navy | Running Backs |
| 1991-93 | Ball State | Running Backs |
| 1994 | Syracuse | Running Backs |
| 1995-2002 | Michigan | Wide Receivers |
| 2003-07 | Michigan | Assistant Head Coach, Wide Receivers |
| 2008-09 | Iowa | Wide Receivers, Tight Ends |
| 2010-12 | Iowa | Wide Receivers |
| 2013-14 | Montreal Alouettes | Wide Receivers |
| 2015 | Michigan | Recruiting Coordinator/Assistant Director of Operations |
| 2015 | UConn | Wide Receivers |
Postseason Games
| Year | Game | School/Team Result |
| 1984 | Holiday | Michigan (player) lost to BYU, 24-17 |
| 1985 | Fiesta | Michigan (player) def. Nebraska, 27-23 |
| 1986 | Rose | Michigan (player) lost to Arizona State, 22-15 |
| 1987 | Hall of Fame | Michigan (player) def. Alabama, 28-24 |
| 1993 | Las Vegas | Ball State lost to Utah State, 42-33 |
| 1995 | Alamo | Michigan lost to Texas A&M, 22-20 |
| 1996 | Outback | Michigan lost to Alabama, 17-14 |
| 1997 | Rose | Michigan def. Washington State, 21-16, to win National Championship |
| 1998 | Citrus | Michigan def. Arkansas, 45-31 |
| 1999 | Orange | Michigan def. Alabama, 35-34 |
| 2000 | Citrus | Michigan def. Auburn, 31-28 |
| 2001 | Citrus | Michigan lost to Tennessee, 45-17 |
| 2002 | Outback | Michigan def. Florida, 38-30 |
| 2003 | Rose | Michigan lost to USC, 28-14 |
| 2004 | Rose | Michigan lost to Texas, 38-37 |
| 2005 | Alamo | Michigan lost to Nebraska, 32-28 |
| 2006 | Rose | Michigan lost to USC, 32-18 |
| 2007 | Capital One | Michigan def. Florida, 41-35 |
| 2008 | Outback | Iowa def. South Carolina, 31-10 |
| 2009 | Orange | Iowa def. Georgia Tech, 24-14 |
| 2010 | Insight | Iowa def. Missouri, 27-24 |
| 2011 | Insight | Iowa lost to Oklahoma, 31-14 |
| 2013 | CFL East Div. Semifinals | Montreal lost to Hamilton, 19-16 |
| 2011 | CFL East Div. Finals | Montreal lost to Hamilton, 40-24 |
