Khary K. Campbell (born April 4, 1979) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

and

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

Early life

Campbell played at Sylvania Southview High School in

Sylvania, Ohio Sylvania is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 19,011 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Sylvania is a suburb of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, and encompassed by Sylvania Township, Lucas County, Ohio, Sylvania Town ...

, where he was a three-year starter at

free safety Safety (S), historically known as a safetyman, is a position in gridiron football on the American football positions#Defense, defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two var ...

, while also starting at halfback and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. As a junior, he registered 83 tackles, 5 interceptions and received first-team All-NLL honors. As a senior, he compiled 134 tackles, 65 carries for 385 yards, 5 rushing

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

s, 47 receptions for 717 yards and 6 receiving

s, earning All-Northern Lakes League honors. He also ran the

200 Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 200 for this y ...

and

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

in track.

College career

Campbell accepted a football scholarship from

. He played

in 2 games as a true freshman, until suffering sprained ligaments in his lower back and being

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman, he started 11 games at

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the lin ...

in the team's new 4-3 defense, making 75 tackles (third on the team), 3 tackles for loss, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries. As a sophomore, he appeared in 8 games, tallying 50 tackles (fourth on the team). As a junior, he started 9 games, collecting 95 tackles (led the team), 8 passes defensed and one interception returned for a

, while playing under head coach

Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...

. As a senior, he posted 79 tackles (led the team), 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, one interception, 5 forced fumbles, while being named second-team All-MAC selection and a team captain. He finished his college career with 299 tackles, ten forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Campbell was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

after the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted ...

. He was waived on August 27 and re-signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

on September 3.

New York Jets

On September 24,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, he was signed off the Cowboys' practice squad by the

. He appeared in nine games as a rookie and recorded seven tackles. As an exclusive-rights free agent in the 2003 offseason, he was re-signed on April 1. He was as a reserve

and a

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

player, registering three tackles in four games, before being waived on September 30.

Washington Redskins

Campbell signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

with the

on April 5,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. He played nine games and recorded 13 tackles before suffering a torn ACL in his left knee and being placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

. The next season, he became a standout

player and was named a team captain. He played in 15 games for the Redskins in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, recording 15 tackles and also earned the team's

Ed Block Courage Award The Ed Block Courage Award is an annual award presented to a player from each team in the National Football League (NFL) who are voted for by their teammates as role models of inspiration, sportsmanship, and courage. Named in memory of Ed Block, a ...

. He was re-signed to a three-year contract in March

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and went on to appear in 14 games, including his first career start. He was placed on the

on December 29, after finishing with 21 tackles. Campbell appeared in all 16 games for the first time in his career in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, recording a career-high 34 tackles. He played in 14 more games for the Redskins in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, recording 13 tackles. He became an unrestricted free agent in the 2009 offseason, after leading the team 4 straight seasons in

tackles (136 tackles).

Houston Texans

Campbell was signed as a

by the

on August 17,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. He was waived on September 5 and re-signed on September 30 to replace an injured

Chaun Thompson Chaun Thompson (born May 22, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the West Texas A&M Buff ...

. On October 6, he was placed on the

with a knee injury that forced him into early retirement.

Personal life

He is now an assistant football coach at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, VA

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Khary 1979 births Living people People from Sylvania, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio American football linebackers Bowling Green Falcons football players Dallas Cowboys players New York Jets players Washington Redskins players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen