KERNERSVILLE
It's an understatement to call Coach Aldine Payne of Glenn a believer in his quarterback, Cameron Campbell.
"Can he play quarterback? Yes," Payne said. "Can he be President of the United States? Yes. Can he be a surgeon? Yes. He is that kind of kid."
And when Campbell, a 6-2, 195-pound senior, absorbs the nuances of Glenn's new "Flex-bone" offense, a version of the triple option, it seems a good bet that the Bobcats will start to turn their season around.
"I would say (Campbell) has had to work hard to be where he's at," said Coach Adrian Snow of West Forsyth, whose team edged Glenn 24-21 in overtime last week. "Because if you haven't been in that offense, and you haven't worked hard, most of the time (the results) are not very good. Been there and done that."
Campbell has a lot going for him. He is one of the top students at Glenn while taking honors and AP classes. His coaches characterize him as a leader, almost a prerequisite for being a winning quarterback. And he is mannerly and highly supportive of his teammates.
Campbell spent frustrating Friday nights on the bench last fall as Glenn slipped to 4-7 and its worst record in years. Now, he has some battles to win to get the Bobcats (0-2) on the winning track, especially becoming comfortable in all phases of the tricky new offense.
"Cam should improve every week," said offensive coordinator Steve Edwards of Glenn. "The more you practice it, and read it, and read it, that kind of thing, then you get better as time goes on. He's doing a good job. Everybody wants to win.
"If Cam will stay focused and continue to work hard and believe in what we are doing, I think by the time we get to conference play, we will be in good shape."
Although Campbell hasn't had completely smooth sailing, his numbers are strong -- 14 for 28 passing for 281 yards and four touchdowns; 29 rushes for 133 yards and a touchdown.
He also has supplied star tailback Josh Hawkins with plenty of carries and is helping turn Tyler Lee into one of the area's top receivers.
The bad? Campbell has lost four fumbles.
"My dad always says to forget about it and move on," Campbell said. "If you think about it, you can't play to the best of your ability. Coach Payne and Edwards tell me to have amnesia, to go out there and try to win and have fun."
Campbell went to camps over the summer, including one at Georgia Tech, to get a head start on the offense.
"From the start, Coach Edwards said it's all about the steps," Campbell said. "He told me from the first day to never look at Josh. It would be all timing in the relationship between me and Josh. It took me awhile to not look at Josh and make sure he was on the right path."
In Glenn's first game, a 40-20 loss at North Davidson, Payne said that Campbell was reluctant to pass. That was corrected before Glenn played West. The next big step will be adding the pitch out to the offense.
Campbell and Glenn's coaches are seeing progress. Payne, formerly the defensive coordinator, is in his first season as head coach; the defense had extensive turnover because of graduation; and then there's the new offense.
"I feel very comfortable," Campbell said. "My offensive line, I couldn't be happier with those guys or my running backs and my slotbacks.
"I would rather lose early in the season when it doesn't count and make improvements from mistakes and be able to win later on in the season in the conference games when it does count. Losses do hurt, but you can't win them all, and I would rather lose now and win later."
mlinker@wsjournal.com
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