Man On A Mission

IN FOUR years as a safety at Army, Caleb Campbell was never recognized by fans away from West Point. That changed on April 27, when he was drafted in the seventh round, with the 218th pick, by the Detroit Lions. Four days later Campbell, a native of Perrytown, Texas, landed in Detroit, and everywhere he turned, or so it seemed, people knew him—as the West Point cadet who won't need to fulfill his active-service duty because he had made it into the NFL. "Everyone was coming up to me and telling me good luck," he says. "That never happened before, never."

The week after he was drafted brought Campbell relief, exhilaration and, despite the warm greetings at the Detroit airport, some negative publicity. The three-year-old Army policy that will allow him to serve as a recruiter and general ambassador, instead of receiving a likely assignment in the Middle East (SI, March 24), is based on the idea that high-profile West Point grads help draw people into the military. But the public reaction to his career path has been mixed. "I've gotten some nasty letters from people questioning what I'm doing, asking me how I can look my classmates in the face," he says. "But that's been a very small minority. On the day I was drafted I got over 300 e-mails, lots of them from soldiers serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those guys said they were behind me and so were their commanding officers."

Last weekend Campbell attended a Lions minicamp, his first official activity as a pro. (He has yet to sign a contract.) Scouts graded him as a better tackler than coverage man, and the team has decided to make him an outside linebacker, a position he's never played. He'll be one of 10 linebackers competing during training camp for around eight jobs (six on the active roster, two on the practice squad). If he doesn't nail one of those or a spot with another NFL team by the end of the year, he may have to return to the Army and serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. First, though, he has classes and exams to finish at West Point before he graduates on May 31. "I know I'm representing more than just myself," he says, "and that gives me more motivation than anyone can imagine."