Only one college football program had more former players on NFL rosters this season than the reigning College Football Playoff Champion, Ohio State. Despite that, only one former Buckeye is on either of the Super Bowl 59 rosters: 2019 Indianapolis Colts second-round pick, Parris Campbell. In fact, the last former Buckeye to be on the active roster for the Super Bowl champions was Darron Lee when the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl 54.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not have any Buckeyes, the Los Angeles Rams had one but he was on injured reserve, and the past two Chiefs teams did not, either. It’s been five years. This year, Campbell is a member of the Philadelphia Eagles and will be looking to end that drought.
32 different Buckeyes have been on the active roster for Super Bowl victories. Eight former players have multiple rings while Mike Vrabel and Nate Ebner have three rings thanks to the New England Patriots’ dominance. Oddly enough, despite all of the recent first-round selections, Campbell has the chance to be the first Ryan Day-coached player to win it all (albeit, Day was the offensive coordinator and three-game interim head coach in 2018).
Some good luck for Campbell: each of the last four Ohio State National Championships was immediately followed by a former player winning the Super Bowl.
From the CFP to the Super Bowl, Ohio State Has One Participant in the Big Game
Campell in Columbus
REC: 6
YDS: 193
TD: 2@PCampbell21‘s career performance just so happened to come in an @OhioStateFB senior day win over rival Michigan#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/FaaMnrqyGk
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) November 27, 2024
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His first season on campus was a good one. In 2014, the Buckeyes overcame an early loss and two quarterback injuries to go on a run to win it all in the first-ever College Football Playoff. In that season, Campbell redshirted. Following that, Campbell did not make any impact as he appeared in eight games and did not record a reception.
In 2016, he started to get into the rotation and finished with 121 yards off 13 receptions. It wasn’t until 2017 that he made a tangible impact. In 13 games, Campbell hauled in 40 passes for 584 yards and three touchdowns. He was starting to develop into that do-it-all gadget back and added 10 rushes for 132 yards and a touchdown.
His breakout was in 2018. Campbell led the Buckeyes with 1,063 yards and led the Big Ten with 12 touchdowns. In the 62-39 win over Michigan, Campbell had one of the most dominant individual receiving performances in the history of The Game with 192 yards and two touchdowns off just six receptions.
His 1,768 yards are good for 19th-most in the history of the program and 15 touchdowns are tied for 20th (with Jeremiah Smith, Ted Ginn, Jr., and Corey Brown). He was eventually selected by the Colts in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft with the 59th overall pick.
A Rocky Journey
When an NFL team picks a receiver in the second round, usually that team expects that player to end up at a Pro Bowl level at the very least. Unfortunately for Campbell, his time with the Colts was anything but smooth. Across his first three seasons, Campbell only managed to play in 15 games and missed 34 due to a number of injuries. He missed all but two games in the 2020 season due to a severely strained MCL.
The 2022 season was his first fully-healthy campaign and he finally gave the team a taste of what they were imagining. In 17 games, Campbell amassed 623 yards and three touchdowns off 63 receptions. Despite being healthy since, he hasn’t really made much of an impact in the NFL. For reference, 55.9 percent of his productivity was in that 2022 season.
In 2023, the Colts did not bring him back, so the New York Giants took a chance on him. In 12 games, Campbell only managed 104 yards off 20 receptions.
The Eagles brought him in before the 2024 season to fight for a spot on the roster and he made five appearances in the regular season and two thus far this postseason. In total this year, Campbell has managed 30 yards and a touchdown off just six catches.
Now, with Super Bowl 59 firmly in his sights, Campbell has a chance to bring the Eagles their second Super Bowl title. Before the season, he contemplated retirement. If he’s active, he could end the Buckeyes’ odd five-year drought of Super Bowl-winning players.
Main Image: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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