Luther Campbell is a legend in the South Florida community for his contributions to the music industry as well as his ties to the University of Miami football program throughout the 80s and 90s. Campbell is now instrumental in the community, as he continues his work with the Liberty City Optimist organization and also holds the title of Defensive Coordinator for the Miami Northwestern Bulls. Campbell spoke with CanesInSight on Saturday afternoon to give his thoughts on the state of the Northwestern program, Artie Burns, and Miami's recruiting efforts in South Florida.
Me: Talk about Artie Burns as a player and what is Miami getting in him?
Campbell: Artie is very special. When I first got him, he was really a track guy then he made the commitment to football and getting in the weight room. He has learned the game and his IQ is out of this world right now. He’s very physical, even though a lot of people look at him and think “track”. He’s a throwback. You talk to Artie and you say he’s nice and mild mannered, but he wants to hit somebody.
Me: I wanted to ask you about Marquiese Blanchard. I was at 4 or 5 of your games this year and that kid was really impressive.
Campbell: Marquiese is great. I love that kid and his work ethic. I’ve been with him since about the 8th grade when he came out of our Liberty City Optimist program. He’s all about football and he’s always getting after it. Howard got a steal with him. FAU was trying to get him at the end, but he is a very committed kid so he stuck with Howard. He’s gonna tear up that league.
Me: Talk about 2014 linebacker Michael Smith a little bit. He’s always making plays.
Campbell: We have just put him in situations where he can make plays and we’ve worked on technique with him too. Mike has a high motor, sideline-to-sideline, all night long. He broke his wrist in the playoff game against Central and the doctors tried to keep him out but he kept playing. That’s the type of kid he is.
Me: Everyone knows about your past in the music industry, but they don’t realize how good that Northwestern defense has been. Talk about your philosophy as a coach.
Campbell: Aww, that’s my secret, you know I used to be a cook at first, and the cook doesn’t tell the recipe (laughs). But really, we spend a lot of time in the film room and coaching technique, fundamental football. Most of the time, the kids are running the defense by themselves because they already know what the other team is going to do. To be able to stop guys like Yearby and Cook combined to 90 yards in the first game was an accomplishment. We had a great group of guys and we are always teaching. Our key is that we allow the kids to play.
Me: Who are some guys we should be watching out for over the next few years at Northwestern?
Campbell: Definitely Mike (Smith) and JoJo Robinson. This receiver out here now, Vari, he’s going to be good. Spence’s little brother is going to be good. We will probably have the best group of linebackers in the state and people don’t even know that. We have some young D-Linemen coming up too that are like manchilds. Eric Kinsey’s brother is already about 6’4”, so we have a really good group. Our defense is stacked and the offense is looking real good. I’m excited about this year to come.
Me: You’ve been a little critical over the last few weeks about Miami’s recruiting efforts down in South Florida. What is the main problem with what they’re doing in your opinion?
Campbell: The bottom line is the evaluation process. I tell people you look at football just like a Sandlot team, you have to pick your team based on what you’re trying to do. I love The U so much and I’m a diehard ‘Cane so I get frustrated and upset when we miss out on certain kids. People don’t understand how much I love the University of Miami and that’s why I tell people I got in Randy Shannon for not playing Streeter and not recruiting TY Hilton or Devonta Freeman. I feel like we should get all these kids because I know how it was built. We had Portis, McGahee, and all of them stacked up. When you came out of high school, and you were Duke Johnson, you couldn’t play the first year, you put the red jersey on and stood your *** on the sideline because you got redshirted. It frustrates me when I don’t see us taking all these kids. Darius Tice was the number one rusher in Dade County and you look at the school he’s at, where it’s all about football, football is everything. If you can play in that, then 80,000 means nothing. You go through the highest level of Dade County and that has to stand for something. Just look at the numbers and what he’s practicing against everyday. If I don’t take that guy, then what else am I looking for? I get a little frustrated by that, but like I tell people, I like Al and talk to him all the time. I’m the guy who’s running around, organizing all the different coaches in the inner city saying we have to support him, but at the same time he has to understand their concerns and talk to them. When something happens like it did recently, everybody calls me because I’m the guy with the flag. But then people are out there saying, “Luke is hating on the U,” but they don’t know half the **** that goes on.
Me: Do you think what has happened over the last couple weeks with the Booker T. situation is beyond repair? What does the Miami coaching staff need to do to be able to get back into good graces?
Campbell: Nothing is beyond repair. That is going to be repaired through time. You got a guy like Ice, who is like the head guy at the table down here. He’s the Don of this, the older statesman. You just did that to the chairman of the board, so it has to be repaired. The other part of it is communication, which will take a moment, and at the same time they’re going to have to get someone down there that we know.
Me: What would you think about Central Head Coach Telly Lockette getting hired at Miami?
Campbell: He would be an excellent hire. You go back in the history in the heydays, and Don Soldinger from Southridge was the best running backs coach in Miami history. The next best running backs coach ever down here is Telly Lockette. Go back and check his history, don’t worry about what he’s doing right now. He coached running backs at Northwestern and was offensive coordinator. He coached Antwain Easterling, Devonta Freeman, Joe Yearby, Cook and all these guys. So really to me he’s like Donny Soldinger with a reputation of back-to-back-to-back. A guy like him is respected throughout the state of Florida because when you beat up on the state, people respect you. That would be the absolute best thing for them. That would make this whole situation a quick fix. Coley and Cristobal don’t know these people. Coley is a great guy, I like him, but Eddie Gran did all the recruiting down here. He’s not in the community like that. Miami really needs someone like that.
Me: Talk about Artie Burns as a player and what is Miami getting in him?
Campbell: Artie is very special. When I first got him, he was really a track guy then he made the commitment to football and getting in the weight room. He has learned the game and his IQ is out of this world right now. He’s very physical, even though a lot of people look at him and think “track”. He’s a throwback. You talk to Artie and you say he’s nice and mild mannered, but he wants to hit somebody.
Me: I wanted to ask you about Marquiese Blanchard. I was at 4 or 5 of your games this year and that kid was really impressive.
Campbell: Marquiese is great. I love that kid and his work ethic. I’ve been with him since about the 8th grade when he came out of our Liberty City Optimist program. He’s all about football and he’s always getting after it. Howard got a steal with him. FAU was trying to get him at the end, but he is a very committed kid so he stuck with Howard. He’s gonna tear up that league.
Me: Talk about 2014 linebacker Michael Smith a little bit. He’s always making plays.
Campbell: We have just put him in situations where he can make plays and we’ve worked on technique with him too. Mike has a high motor, sideline-to-sideline, all night long. He broke his wrist in the playoff game against Central and the doctors tried to keep him out but he kept playing. That’s the type of kid he is.
Me: Everyone knows about your past in the music industry, but they don’t realize how good that Northwestern defense has been. Talk about your philosophy as a coach.
Campbell: Aww, that’s my secret, you know I used to be a cook at first, and the cook doesn’t tell the recipe (laughs). But really, we spend a lot of time in the film room and coaching technique, fundamental football. Most of the time, the kids are running the defense by themselves because they already know what the other team is going to do. To be able to stop guys like Yearby and Cook combined to 90 yards in the first game was an accomplishment. We had a great group of guys and we are always teaching. Our key is that we allow the kids to play.
Me: Who are some guys we should be watching out for over the next few years at Northwestern?
Campbell: Definitely Mike (Smith) and JoJo Robinson. This receiver out here now, Vari, he’s going to be good. Spence’s little brother is going to be good. We will probably have the best group of linebackers in the state and people don’t even know that. We have some young D-Linemen coming up too that are like manchilds. Eric Kinsey’s brother is already about 6’4”, so we have a really good group. Our defense is stacked and the offense is looking real good. I’m excited about this year to come.
Me: You’ve been a little critical over the last few weeks about Miami’s recruiting efforts down in South Florida. What is the main problem with what they’re doing in your opinion?
Campbell: The bottom line is the evaluation process. I tell people you look at football just like a Sandlot team, you have to pick your team based on what you’re trying to do. I love The U so much and I’m a diehard ‘Cane so I get frustrated and upset when we miss out on certain kids. People don’t understand how much I love the University of Miami and that’s why I tell people I got in Randy Shannon for not playing Streeter and not recruiting TY Hilton or Devonta Freeman. I feel like we should get all these kids because I know how it was built. We had Portis, McGahee, and all of them stacked up. When you came out of high school, and you were Duke Johnson, you couldn’t play the first year, you put the red jersey on and stood your *** on the sideline because you got redshirted. It frustrates me when I don’t see us taking all these kids. Darius Tice was the number one rusher in Dade County and you look at the school he’s at, where it’s all about football, football is everything. If you can play in that, then 80,000 means nothing. You go through the highest level of Dade County and that has to stand for something. Just look at the numbers and what he’s practicing against everyday. If I don’t take that guy, then what else am I looking for? I get a little frustrated by that, but like I tell people, I like Al and talk to him all the time. I’m the guy who’s running around, organizing all the different coaches in the inner city saying we have to support him, but at the same time he has to understand their concerns and talk to them. When something happens like it did recently, everybody calls me because I’m the guy with the flag. But then people are out there saying, “Luke is hating on the U,” but they don’t know half the **** that goes on.
Me: Do you think what has happened over the last couple weeks with the Booker T. situation is beyond repair? What does the Miami coaching staff need to do to be able to get back into good graces?
Campbell: Nothing is beyond repair. That is going to be repaired through time. You got a guy like Ice, who is like the head guy at the table down here. He’s the Don of this, the older statesman. You just did that to the chairman of the board, so it has to be repaired. The other part of it is communication, which will take a moment, and at the same time they’re going to have to get someone down there that we know.
Me: What would you think about Central Head Coach Telly Lockette getting hired at Miami?
Campbell: He would be an excellent hire. You go back in the history in the heydays, and Don Soldinger from Southridge was the best running backs coach in Miami history. The next best running backs coach ever down here is Telly Lockette. Go back and check his history, don’t worry about what he’s doing right now. He coached running backs at Northwestern and was offensive coordinator. He coached Antwain Easterling, Devonta Freeman, Joe Yearby, Cook and all these guys. So really to me he’s like Donny Soldinger with a reputation of back-to-back-to-back. A guy like him is respected throughout the state of Florida because when you beat up on the state, people respect you. That would be the absolute best thing for them. That would make this whole situation a quick fix. Coley and Cristobal don’t know these people. Coley is a great guy, I like him, but Eddie Gran did all the recruiting down here. He’s not in the community like that. Miami really needs someone like that.
