Chestnut Hill Academy’s Campbell is competitive

ONCE HE GETS his fill of football, Ibraheim Campbell should take up poker.

He's skilled at not tipping his hand.

The buzz around Chestnut Hill Academy is that Campbell, a 6-foot, 195-pound senior who stars at tailback and defensive back (corner or safety, depending), is favoring Stanford for his college destination.

Mum's the word, baby.

"No word yet. Not right now," he said. "I'm down to a top four of Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern and Boston College and I'm going to be taking an official visit to BC in a few weeks. I should be ready to decide a couple days after that.

"I have good relationships with the coaching staffs at all those schools. I've been keeping in touch with a lot of their players, too, mostly through Facebook. Nobody says anything negative."

Could distance from home surface as a factor?

"Well, when you're in Division 1 football, you don't get to go home too often no matter where you are. I've seen that with Rashad and he's only 3, 4 hours away," Campbell said. "So I don't think [geography] will matter. What am I looking for? Just the best fit. The place where I know I'll fit."

Campbell often talks like that. He tends to come from the just-the-facts-ma'am school of expressing his thoughts and, likewise, a no-frills approach has certainly served him well on the football field.

There is one subject that will get his motor running, however, and that's the friendly rivalry he maintains with the aforementioned Rashad, a brother and CHA product (class of 2008) who is now becoming a force in Cornell's defensive backfield (team-high 12 solo tackles).

"I have always tried to be better than Rashad, and it has led me to success," Ibraheim said yesterday, shortly before the start of practice while sitting in a room off the main part of the cafeteria. "I'm sure he's aware I'm trying to be better than him."

Now we're getting somewhere. Keep talking.

"We always argue about how I'm stronger and faster," Ibraheim said, laughing. "Even when my test results in the bench press or 40 are better than his, he'll still find some way to say his are better.

"We haven't raced, or lifted together, in a while, though...I guess he can say that until we do it again."

Ibraheim (e-bruh-heem) boasts quite the grid lineage on both sides of his family. Rashad finished his CHA career with 4,204 rushing yards overall and 3,200 in the two seasons that followed the Blue Devils' return to the Inter-Ac League. A brother on his mother's side, Aquil Stinson, starred at CHA (Class of '95) and Georgetown. A brother on his father's side, Malik Jones, played for Martin Luther King ('96) and Bloomsburg.

Ib or Ibs, for short, vaguely remembers watching Aquil play for Georgetown. What he most recalls are the nuggets of advice regarding preparation and dedication to team, schoolwork, etc. He also said Aquil's insistence that he slap together a highlight tape to distribute to colleges as early as possible wound up creating great opportunities.

Shadowing Rashad also proved to be golden.

"Rashad always set a great example for me," Ibraheim said. "From school to athletics, he always pushed me. I loved doing what he was doing, and stuck with it."

So far for coach Rick Knox' 3-0 Blue Devils, Campbell has rushed 76 times for 512 yards and eight touchdowns behind the blocking of center Chris Howard, guards Colin Kelly and Brendan Spearing, tackles Will Emory and Matt Levin, ends Brendan Plunkett and Bobby Keyes and fullback Tom Devlin.

Such production should not surprise, considering Campbell last season hustled his way to 1,772 yards and 22 TDs.

But this probably will: He prefers defense.

"My first position with the Mount Airy Bantams was linebacker, and since then I've just always loved defense," he said. "I'm trying to get to the NFL, and I think I'd have a better shot as a safety.

"Most of the schools I talked to were surprised about my desire to play defense. It excited them, really. I guess they deal mostly with guys who say they want to play offense."

As Campbell headed down a long hallway, filled with trophy cases, toward the cafeteria, he passed five wooden benches with one word inscribed on each - integrity, courage, loyalty, honesty, sportsmanship.

Quarterback Danny Gallagher, for one, would say all five of those words apply to Campbell. And more.

"He always leads by example," Gallagher offered. "From always going 110 percent through sprints in practice, to never missing an assignment during team drills, to fighting through cramps to score a go-ahead touchdown...Everyone looks to Ib for inspiration."

In college, Campbell, who lives in Cheltenham, is thinking about pursuing a pre-med major with designs on becoming an orthopedic surgeon. He thrives in science and math, plus he admires the work done by Dr. Tony Salem, the Blue Devils' team doctor.

"He plays such a large part with our team," he said.

As those around the squad have noticed, Ibraheim Campbell is hardly a football head. Oh, he loves the sport, but it's not a 24/7 obsession.

"I don't sit there and watch ESPN all day," he said. "I'm more a fan of the sport than actual teams; that sums it up pretty well."

So, when the TV's not on, what could we find him doing?

The response came accompanied by a sheepish smile, and was even slightly delivered in the form of a question.

"Homework?" he said.

Nothing wrong with that.