Jihaad Campbell, “You Got to Have it On” When Playing for Alabama

Indianapolis, Ind. - The NFL scouting combine has officially kicked off in Indianapolis, Indiana, and hundreds of hopeful prospects will spend the next four days being poked, prodded, questioned, and pushed to their limits in front of eyes from all 32 NFL teams in hopes of raising their draft stock and hearing their name called sometime in the NFL draft from April 24-26.

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One player who will likely hear his name called on night one is now former Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell. Campbell, a 6-foot-3, 244-pound linebacker from Erial, New Jersey, spent three seasons as a game wrecker for the Alabama defense. Campbell started 21 games over his final two seasons at Alabama and was named first-team All-SEC in 2024 and second-team All-American.

Campbell was a five-star prospect from the 2021 recruiting class, signing with Alabama after de-committing from Clemson.

We've heard from multiple former Crimson Tide stars that it is not easy playing for Alabama, with long days, brutal workouts, and sacrifice required to compete at the level the Crimson Tide wants to play at. Campbell began his interview process at the NFL Combine on Wednesday, and his story of playing for Alabama was no different than the stars before him,

"That little on-and-off switch button? You got to have it on," Campbell said to Sirius XM NFL radio. "If you don't - if you've got it off - somebody's gonna get in your butt. And he's gonna tell you about yourself. That's just how we do things."

"We hold everybody accountable. That's the standard," Campbell said.

Campbell was a wrecking ball to opposing offenses during his time at Alabama. He showed his natural athleticism at inside linebacker with the ability to diagnose and fit into the run game while also being able to drop into coverage and affect the passing game. On third down, Campbell can walk down to the edge and blitz opposing quarterbacks with efficiency.

In three years at Alabama, he totaled 184 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, five pass breakups, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, two forced fumbles, and one defensive touchdown.

Campbell, along with the rest of the 2024 Alabama roster, played under unprecedented circumstances in 2024 after the retirement of seven-time national champion head coach Nick Saban. Alabama would hire Kalen DeBoer less than three days after Saban retired, giving the Crimson Tide a new direction in football.

When a new coach is hired, it begins a long interview process between the new coach and his players. Everyone is feeling each other out to determine if the coach will mesh with the players and if the players will mesh with the scheme. 2024 was no different, but Campbell was one of the voices in the Alabama locker room that supported Coach DeBoer and new defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.

"We accepted Coach DeBoer coming in. We accepted the defensive staff. We accepted the front office people. We accepted the offensive staff," Campbell said to Sirius XM NFL radio. "When you think of those things, especially with a whole new coach coming in - obviously, you've got to have different trust. That's really an interview too - talking to them and communicating with them. I feel as time went on, we all trusted each other. Just tried to find ways to be better and be the best versions of ourselves."

Alabama's defense under Kane Wommack and Kalen DeBoer had its best year since Jeremy Pruitt was the defensive coordinator in 2017. Alabama ended as a top-10 team in total defense, giving up just 17.4 points per game. Alabama's defense also averaged 2.2 forced turnovers per game.

Despite the 9-4 record, Kalen DeBoer laid the foundation for his tenure at Alabama with the help of superstars like Jihaad Campbell.

Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.