Three-Star Defensive End Drew Campbell Signs With Iowa

What do you with a Butkus Award-winning linebacker after he heads to the NFL to be a first-round draft pick? For the Iowa Hawkeyes, step one was securing the services of his younger brother, as Cedar Falls edge rusher Drew Campbell followed in the footsteps of older brother Jack by signing with the 2024 recruiting class.

Campbell signed with Iowa over offers from Northern Iowa, Iowa State and Kansas State.

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Not that Iowa made Drew's recruitment about his older brother; in fact, Drew appreciated that the opposite was true.

“No one [on the Iowa staff] really brings it up,” Drew told us in April. “The most they’ll go is asking me how he’s doing. They do a nice job of keeping him out of everything, which is nice."

Indeed, the connection with the staff led Drew to Iowa, more than a path already walked for him.

"I just felt so comfortable there with all the coaches, and I felt like I built great relationships with them," Campbell told us in April. "Iowa City and the people there -- that's who I want to surround myself with. There's something about it. I feel like they're going to bring out the best in me."

Drew will be playing off the edge, as opposed to Jack's dominance at the mike linebacker, so comparisons between the two are already of limited benefit. Drew has at least inherited Jack's sure-handed mitts for tackling; he can drag ball-carriers down in the open field, or he can deliver a violent hit with the right opportunity.

Indeed, Drew plays as disruptively as an edge rusher ought to, but his chaos is controlled; his motor and high IQ keep him involved in plays long enough to make an impact if the chance is there. His hands are especially active, which will serve him well against Power-5 competition.