‘Great Fit’ – Camper Brings Fight to IU Receiving
9/29/2022 10:43:00 AM | Football
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Cam Camper, breaker of defensive back spirits.
It sounds catchy, if not intimidating.
In so many ways, it's also true.
This Indiana junior receiver wouldn't want it any other way.
"If I can make a contested catch," he says, "that brings the DB down because I know he's doing everything he can to stop me, and I still catch it, it's a confidence booster."
Not just for him. Hoosiers on both sides of the ball feel the boost when the 6-2, 200-pound Camper makes a big play, and he makes a lot of them given his team-leading 33 catches for a team-leading 418 yards.
Not bad for a junior college transfer who has spent his career under the radar.
"He's a dog," linebacker Aaron Casey says. "The fight he has in him to try to make the plays that come to him. It makes us want to play harder.
"We see him and feed off the energy he creates. That's what I love about watching him."
Camper arrived at Indiana last January and instantly created a buzz with his work ethic and potential. That continued through spring practice, summer workouts, and fall camp.
Still, you don't know until the games begin. The season-opening victory over Illinois set an instant tone. Camper caught 11 passes for 156 yards. IU has played football since 1885 and no receiver has ever totaled so many yards in his debut.
Six of those catches went for first downs. Three came on the game-winning touchdown drive. That earned him Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Player of the Week honorable mention.
Camper followed that with strong performances against Idaho and Western Kentucky. His touchdown catch against Western Kentucky, followed by Donaven McCulley's two-point conversion reception, sent the game into overtime.
Last Saturday at Cincinnati, Camper had 10 catches for 126 yards.
Consider Camper never caught more than 28 passes in his two seasons at Texas' Trinity Valley Community College
Are your surprised? He isn't.
"I know the work I put in prior to the season. I'm glad it's paying off; glad I am producing for the team. It's such a blessing."
Still, lighting up a Big Ten team such as Illinois in your Cream & Crimson debut is impressive.
"I knew what I was getting into," he says. "I knew if I worked hard, everything would take care of itself."
Camper was undersized and under-recruited coming out of Lancaster High School in Texas. He went to Trinity Valley, grew, worked, and developed to become, in head coach Tom Allen's words, "a different kid."
Allen watched the film, couldn't understand the lack of major-college interest and offered a scholarship.
"I thought he was a great fit for us," Allen says. "I thought he was special in practice."
So did receivers coach Adam Henry, who has praised Camper's knack for making tough catches and his blocking skills. He works so hard and is around the coaches' offices so much, Henry says, they call him "Coach Cam."
"He doesn't say much," Henry says. "He just shows up and goes to work."
Camper is one of IU's 16 transfers. What has allowed him to make such a big early impact? In so many ways, offensive coordinator Walt Bell says, it has nothing to do with his physical skills.
"The biggest thing I like about him is he's just a great kid," Bell says. "He's got a great mom. He comes from great people. He's a worker, a high achiever.
"Anything you ask him to do on and off the football field, he does at a high level. It's how he takes care of himself, almost to a fault. When he feels like he let the team down, it hurts him."
Camper is at his best in big moments. That's why he's immediately become quarterback Connor Bazelak's No. 1 target.
"It's his willingness to be coached," Bazelak says. "Coach Henry and Coach Bell are great with receivers. He's a hard-working guy who does what he's coached to do. He doesn't complain. If something's not right, he asks me about it and we get if fixed. We have a lot of communication."
Communication includes being on the same page when Bazelak scrambles.
"It's been worked on," Camper says. "We emphasize the scramble drill. We don't want to leave (Bazelak) out to dry when he's scrambling.
"We make sure we get to our spots for him. If we get to our spots, he'll get the ball to us. That makes me go harder throughout the week. I've got to make the play for him."
Camper's strong start has teams adjusting their defenses to slow him down.
"They change up what they do," he says. "They don't stick to one coverage. I have to figure out what they're doing and adjust on the fly.
"It's a challenge, but I try to take what I want."
The next challenge comes Saturday night at Nebraska.
With IU (3-1, 1-0) leading the nation in passing attempts (202), Camper will be a prime target.
"You see how important the team is to him, how important his performance is to him," Bell says. "For him, the main thing outside of those white lines is how everything is done the right way.
"When you have a grasp and great control of your life outside the white lines, all the football stuff gets a lot easier. It's great to see great things happen to a great kid."
It sounds catchy, if not intimidating.
In so many ways, it's also true.
This Indiana junior receiver wouldn't want it any other way.
"If I can make a contested catch," he says, "that brings the DB down because I know he's doing everything he can to stop me, and I still catch it, it's a confidence booster."
Not just for him. Hoosiers on both sides of the ball feel the boost when the 6-2, 200-pound Camper makes a big play, and he makes a lot of them given his team-leading 33 catches for a team-leading 418 yards.
Not bad for a junior college transfer who has spent his career under the radar.
"He's a dog," linebacker Aaron Casey says. "The fight he has in him to try to make the plays that come to him. It makes us want to play harder.
"We see him and feed off the energy he creates. That's what I love about watching him."
Camper arrived at Indiana last January and instantly created a buzz with his work ethic and potential. That continued through spring practice, summer workouts, and fall camp.
Still, you don't know until the games begin. The season-opening victory over Illinois set an instant tone. Camper caught 11 passes for 156 yards. IU has played football since 1885 and no receiver has ever totaled so many yards in his debut.
Six of those catches went for first downs. Three came on the game-winning touchdown drive. That earned him Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Player of the Week honorable mention.
Camper followed that with strong performances against Idaho and Western Kentucky. His touchdown catch against Western Kentucky, followed by Donaven McCulley's two-point conversion reception, sent the game into overtime.
Last Saturday at Cincinnati, Camper had 10 catches for 126 yards.
Consider Camper never caught more than 28 passes in his two seasons at Texas' Trinity Valley Community College
Are your surprised? He isn't.
"I know the work I put in prior to the season. I'm glad it's paying off; glad I am producing for the team. It's such a blessing."
Still, lighting up a Big Ten team such as Illinois in your Cream & Crimson debut is impressive.
"I knew what I was getting into," he says. "I knew if I worked hard, everything would take care of itself."
Camper was undersized and under-recruited coming out of Lancaster High School in Texas. He went to Trinity Valley, grew, worked, and developed to become, in head coach Tom Allen's words, "a different kid."
Allen watched the film, couldn't understand the lack of major-college interest and offered a scholarship.
"I thought he was a great fit for us," Allen says. "I thought he was special in practice."
So did receivers coach Adam Henry, who has praised Camper's knack for making tough catches and his blocking skills. He works so hard and is around the coaches' offices so much, Henry says, they call him "Coach Cam."
"He doesn't say much," Henry says. "He just shows up and goes to work."
Camper is one of IU's 16 transfers. What has allowed him to make such a big early impact? In so many ways, offensive coordinator Walt Bell says, it has nothing to do with his physical skills.
"The biggest thing I like about him is he's just a great kid," Bell says. "He's got a great mom. He comes from great people. He's a worker, a high achiever.
"Anything you ask him to do on and off the football field, he does at a high level. It's how he takes care of himself, almost to a fault. When he feels like he let the team down, it hurts him."
Camper is at his best in big moments. That's why he's immediately become quarterback Connor Bazelak's No. 1 target.
"It's his willingness to be coached," Bazelak says. "Coach Henry and Coach Bell are great with receivers. He's a hard-working guy who does what he's coached to do. He doesn't complain. If something's not right, he asks me about it and we get if fixed. We have a lot of communication."
Communication includes being on the same page when Bazelak scrambles.
"It's been worked on," Camper says. "We emphasize the scramble drill. We don't want to leave (Bazelak) out to dry when he's scrambling.
"We make sure we get to our spots for him. If we get to our spots, he'll get the ball to us. That makes me go harder throughout the week. I've got to make the play for him."
Camper's strong start has teams adjusting their defenses to slow him down.
"They change up what they do," he says. "They don't stick to one coverage. I have to figure out what they're doing and adjust on the fly.
"It's a challenge, but I try to take what I want."
The next challenge comes Saturday night at Nebraska.
With IU (3-1, 1-0) leading the nation in passing attempts (202), Camper will be a prime target.
"You see how important the team is to him, how important his performance is to him," Bell says. "For him, the main thing outside of those white lines is how everything is done the right way.
"When you have a grasp and great control of your life outside the white lines, all the football stuff gets a lot easier. It's great to see great things happen to a great kid."
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