Dalevon Campbell wasn’t playing three weeks ago. Now he might be USC’s best weapon
For most of the season, Dalevon Campbell’s name barely surfaced — that is, until everything changed in the last couple of weeks.
Campbell continued his streak of strong performances with a five-catch, 120-yard outing in South Carolina’s 56-12 rout of Wofford. USC head coach Shane Beamer said Campbell received a game ball for his “awesome” effort Saturday.
“That just comes from practice — staying ready, you don’t have to get ready,” Campbell said when asked how he’s found a rhythm of late. “Just going into every week, just working and working. Keeping your head down, just working.”
He got things started in the second quarter with an explosive 58-yard catch. He got behind a defender and nearly scored, though he stumbled with 13 yards of open field in front of him.
Campbell followed that up with consecutive catches of 27 and 21 yards at the end of the first half. Those grabs set the Gamecocks up at the 1-yard line, leading to a touchdown that gave USC a two-score lead at the break.
The super senior’s explosive half was the lone highlight of an otherwise sluggish first half from USC. He even made an impact on special teams, delivering the hardest hit of the night when he cracked Wofford returner Amir Annoor after a punt.
“It was probably my favorite play of the game,” Campbell said. “In my head, I’m thinking, ‘I’m coming down; he’s about to fair catch it.’ And he didn’t. It was just like, ‘This is gonna be fun.’”
It certainly wasn’t fun for Annoor.
On USC’s senior night, Campbell made the most of his final game playing under the lights at Williams-Brice Stadium. And his late-season surge has been one of the biggest stories of the last two weeks for the Gamecocks.
Last week was the coming-out party for Campbell, when he had two catches for 86 yards in USC’s 34-30 last-minute win over Missouri. Prior to that, the Nevada transfer hadn’t caught a pass in a month and had only logged four catches for 46 yards all season. In fact, he’d been targeted just six times all year.
Now, he’s suddenly the Gamecocks’ third-leading wide receiver in yardage.
Campbell hasn’t seen the field much this season, despite being USC’s highest-ranked receiver with his limited snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. Even against Missouri, he only played just four passing snaps, but hauled in two deep passes.
The high ranking stems from Campbell’s knack for making big chunk plays downfield. The chemistry he’s built with QB LaNorris Sellers for those long gaining plays has led to him leading the team in yards per reception (22.9).
With a banged-up group of pass catchers Saturday — tight ends Joshua Simon (who leads USC in receiving yards and touchdowns), Brady Hunt and Michael Smith all missed the game — Campbell and others had to step up.
There hasn’t been a clear explanation for why Campbell hasn’t played more this season, though Beamer has often emphasized that practice performance dictates playing time.
For Beamer, Campbell’s recent success is no coincidence. After the win, he added that Campbell has “worked really, really hard in practice” and his breakout games followed suit.
“I told you guys at the beginning of the season that our wide receiver room would continue to get better,” Beamer said. “And the way the wide receiver room looked in September, it would probably look different in December and probably in November, and it does.
“Those guys continue to work and continue to get better, and Dalevon Campbell’s a perfect example of that.”
