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Earl Campbell Interview on Titans Online


BudsOilers

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“Eddie George, he has that million dollar smile,” Campbell said. “And he’s good people. And when he speaks, people listen. .. I am very proud and happy about Eddie George. That young man was a great football player, and now he is an actor. But he looks like he could still play football.

 

“First and foremost, though, Eddie George is a first-class guy.”

 

....

 

“I’ve never met him, but I talked to him on phone when he was at Alabama and told him how proud I was of him,” Campbell said of Henry. “I let him know I was a fan of his, and if there’s anything I could ever do for him, just let me know.

 

“When you talk to him, let him know the offer is still good. Let him know if there is anything I can ever do for him, he’s welcome to call me, and sit down and talk to me.”

 

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Earl is always total class. 

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The thing that is underscored is that Earl Campbell was a freak athlete in his era.  Back then linemen were his size.   He lost his breakaway speed around year 4 but 78-80 were about as dominating as you’ll see from a runner.

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Think about some of the great rookie running backs the NFL has seen over the years.....guys who exploded out of the gate from day one.     Guys like Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Adrian Peterson;  in recent years, both Ezekiel Elliott and Saquon Barkely had 2000+ yards from scrimmage as rookies.      We've seen some great ones.

 

But with all the great rookie debuts we've seen...... Earl Campbell is (and probably always will be be) the only RB to ever win league MVP as a rookie.     He was *that*  friggin' good.

 

It's hard to convey what a sensation Earl was in 1978 or the impact he had on the national sports media;  it was somewhere between legendary and straight-up folklore.....the guy was a superhero.   (And this from someone who didn't even follow the Oilers;  at the time, I was a ten-year old kid in Las Vegas.)     In the years since, I don't know that we've seen an NFL rookie make such an impact in terms of media exposure, popularity, and overall national consciousness;  Patrick Mahomes and Randy Moss would probably be the closest comparisons.    You'd really have to go outside football to find athletes who had a bigger and more immediate impact than Earl....cultural icons like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods.

 

I think most people have forgotten just how special Earl was in his prime.   It's just a shame it didn't last longer.

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