BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
McALLEN — Chase Campbell hasn’t stepped foot on his high school campus for freshman year, but he has already thrown footballs on Division I campuses across the country.
Growing up, Campbell liked two schools: TCU and LSU. So, when he found himself in front of LSU coach Ed Orgeron earlier this summer, he said he was “shocked.”
“I had never seen a DI head coach in person before,” Campbell said. “I was like, ‘Hello, sir.’ He was like, ‘Hello, nice to meet you.’ And then he said, ‘Are you tearing it up?’ I said, ‘Yes, sir!’”
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound quarterback earned his way onto LSU’s campus. He was invited to a camp there with some of the top recruits across the nation.
“It was really competitive,” Campbell said. “There were some great players there, and I learned a lot.”
Campbell worked with coaches on his footwork and timing, something he said has paid off right away.
LSU hosted just one of the many camps he has been to this year. He has visited schools all across Texas, playing with kids from Dallas and Houston. He has been to Louisiana and Dallas for 7-on-7 tournaments this summer. Campbell is on the frontline of a new generation of Valley football players who are not scared to go north and face those bigger-city schools.
Campbell went to Edinburg’s South Middle School, where he led the team to back-to-back undefeated seasons and a pair of district titles.
This fall, he will play at Edinburg Vela.
“It’s awesome to be going there, because it is a powerhouse school in the Valley, and they go deep in the playoffs,” Campbell said.
Many coaches, teammates and friends have described Campbell as someone who has “a big heart” and is hardworking.
His football career is the exemplification of that.
He grew up loving soccer and playing it well. His family is a soccer family, and his sister, rising sophomore at Vela Taylor Campbell, proved it by earning District 31-6A All-District Player of the Year during her freshman year.
Chase qualified for a state soccer team when he was younger, which qualified him to be a part of the Olympic developmental camp in Alabama.
Chase always loved football — he grew up watching every Sunday and Monday. But it wasn’t until sixth grade that he decided to pursue the sport.
“When I first started, I knew I had to work hard,” Campbell said. “I worked on my arm strength a lot, because I really didn’t have much arm strength yet. So I worked out a lot, and I worked on my speed.”
Chase has practiced with many of the top trainers in and around the Valley over the last few years. Each has had a different impact on his game, and Chase’s understanding of the sport and high football IQ allow him to take the best of what he learns and apply it to what he already knows. He proved how hardworking he is by taking his arm strength from novice to elite in just a few short years.
Chase isn’t jaded by much, because he has been through almost everything imaginable on the football field.
Chase had the opportunity to play at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, home of the Dallas Cowboys. If that wasn’t enough to rattle a teenager, the game was broadcast on live TV. Chase embraced the pressure and had a great performance on a big stage playing for the USA national team, which earned him another invite to the team this summer.
The cool Chase displays under pressure will be key going into his freshman year. Vela has an embarrassment of riches at the quarterback position. Sophomore AJ Sotello earned a lot of trust during his freshman year and was a name that came up a lot during spring football. Then, after spring football, rising senior Jacob Rosales transferred from Sharyland Pioneer and was a part of Vela’s 7-on-7 team. Rising senior Frankie Zuniga played quarterback at Edinburg North last year and has since also transferred to Vela. Rising senior Elijah Trujillo also played QB for Vela’s 7-on-7 team this summer.
Chase is familiar with all of them, and he also got to play on that 7-on-7 team. He said he knows the challenge that awaits him will be tough.
Chase is familiar with tough, though. He has learned how to handle pressure on the field and still deliver.
Chase has led drives in the closing minutes with the game on the line. He has had to complete clutch third- and fourth-down passes to extend drives.
During his retelling of one such occasion, his mind for the game is on full display. His team was down 7-0 with about two and a half minutes left in the game. Chase was down a few of his top receivers because of injuries.
“The first play, I took a dropback, and they were in Cover 2,” he recalled. “I saw the middle was wide open. I audibled to have my X run a skinny post inside. I hit him. He caught it, got hit and dropped it. So I was like, all right. Next play, I threw it long, and another receiver dropped it. And then one of the starting receivers came in. I threw him a perfect ball. It was deep, but right on the mark. He caught it and ran for the touchdown to tie up the game.”
In those moments, it is easy to forget that Chase Campbell is still just a kid. He likes to play video games with his friends. They hang out and go out together, like kids do, with Chase flashing his big grin.
Chase and his father, Mario Campbell, are very close. Because both Chase and Taylor have demanding travel schedules during the summer, mother Veronica Campbell usually drives Taylor to her soccer games, plus practices in San Antonio and all over Texas, while Mario takes Chase to his camps and tournaments. Mario and Chase bond over football, but they also have a lot of fun together away from the sport. Chase said the best part of those long weekends is when the whole family gets to come together at the end and share their travel stories with each other.
When Chase has to, he always thinks about his future in football first, whether that means missing parties for practice or cutting down his Takis consumption.
Chase knows earning the varsity starting job during his first year will be a tall task, but it’s also a dream of his, and he said he will do everything in his power to make it happen.
“There is going to be competition at Vela this year,” Chase said. “I’m not going to give the spot up easily.”