Will Campbell has a leg up on other draftees.<\/p>\n
Campbell, the first-round selection of the New England Patriots, picked the brain of NFL legend Andrew Whitworth for years. It was a \u201chuge honor,\u201d Campbell said on draft night. And now that the LSU product is headed to the NFL, he can reflect back on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I think one of the biggest things for all young athletes is continue to be yourself,\u201d Whitworth told NESN.com when asked about the messages he offered<\/a>. \u201cWhat makes you special? Don\u2019t lose sight of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Whitworth learned about Campbell when the latter was attending Neville High School (Monroe, La.), some three miles away from where Whitworth himself grew up. When Campbell started playing left tackle at LSU, Whitworth reached out via text. He played the same position at the same school, after all. They built a connection.<\/p>\n \u201cEven when you get into these things now where \u2014 I didn\u2019t get to live in the NIL world so I have no idea what the college football landscape is like now as an athlete,\u201d Whitworth said. \u201cBut I do understand expectations. I do understand the stress that it takes to put yourself under, and the work it takes to be successful at the highest levels. <\/p>\n Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cSo what are some of those little nuggets and things that I can give you? Just say, \u2018Hey, man, listen, when you get to this agent process, when you get to the process of everyone\u2019s telling you you need to do this, you need to do that.\u2019 Like, \u2018Man, you don\u2019t have to do anything. You feel good about it, you make sure you choose to add people to your team that represent you and reflect you.\u2019 And it sure seems like he\u2019s continuing to make great decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Whitworth credited Campbell for working with the right people<\/a>, specifically Duke Manyweather. Manyweather helps some of the top offensive linemen in the NFL and was lauded by Whitworth for his teachings.<\/p>\n