Three years of questions, doubts and skeptics vanished in one play.
In that moment, Jason Campbell lifted himself from a talented, but non-productive quarterback into a clutch performer. The play catapulted Auburn to a game-winning touchdown and, eventually, an undefeated season. It catapulted Campbell to the first round of the NFL Draft.
And it started like this.
Trailing LSU, 9-3, Auburn faced a fourth and 12 with three minutes, seven seconds remaining. The Tigers blitzed Campbell up the middle; from the left hashmark he sprinted to the right, got sandwiched and threw a sidearm pass to the outside for 14 yards.
He capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass on third and 12.
But his signature play in this undefeated season occurred on fourth down, prompting then-LSU coach Nick Saban to say afterward, “Thequarterback made a great play.”
“It was a phenomenal pass,” Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges said. “It was as good a play as you’ll ever see on any level. After that, his improvement steadily climbed and he never looked back.”
Campbell, making his first start for the Redskins on Sunday, said he anticipated the blitz, telling receiver Courtney Taylor to make sure he ran a comeback route and that he’d try to hit him on the outside. He did.
“[That play] took my game to another level,” Campbell said.
And this play is why Borges is confident in what Campbell can do. When a play breaks down, Campbell has the size (6-foot-5) and speed to improvise.
Indeed, on this play, he kept his eyes downfield and could see over the blitz.
So Borges scoffs at any thought Campbell was a product of his system in college. Borges arrived at Auburn for Campbell’s senior season. What he found was a quarterback “afraid to make mistakes. He needed to let ‘er rip.”
Campbell ripped away. He finished as the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year thanks to 20 touchdown passes and a 69.6 completion percentage.
“He has the ability to play a lot of systems,” Borges said. “A system guy does not have a good arm, but is accurate and can do what the system demands but nothing else. Jason can run what you want and bail you out of bad situations with his athleticism.
“If a play breaks down, he can run around and make things happen. In [the NFL], every third or fourth play the quarterback has to make something happen. … In time, the Redskins will reap the benefits.”
Week 11 Notes
» Redskins playcaller Al Saunders said he will change the offense “quite a bit” for Jason Campbell on Sunday, accounting for the differences between he and Mark Brunell.
But there’s one thing Saunders wants Campbell to do.
“His only job is to get the ball in the hands of the playmakers,” Saunders said. He also warns: “It’s not the quarterback, it’s the other 10 players. It’s the whole system that has to be developed at a higher level before we can go to the next step.”
» Receiver Santana Moss (hamstring) did not practice Thursday, though he was in helmet and pads, and remains questionable. He and tight end Christian Fauria (ankle) were the only players not to practice. Fauria is not expected to play.
» Redskins kicker John Hall, placed on the injured reserve list on Oct. 11, said his right leg feels better, but still has some “residual things wrong with it.”
“I wasn’t sure that [injured reserve] was the way to go,” he said. “But that’s not my call and I understand the situation. They’ve been real good to me as far as trying to get me right.”
Hall, who continues to get daily treatment for his quad at Redskins Park, said he hasn’t spoken to anyone about his future here.
» Former Redskins Art Monk and Russ Grimm both made the cut to 25 for Hall of Fame balloting. The next cut is to 15 in mid-January. The eventual inductees will be decided the day before the Super Bowl.
