Indiana Kicker Charles Campbell Enters Transfer Portal With One Year of Eligibility
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – And so it begins.
Indiana kicker Charles Campbell announced on Monday that he has entered the transfer portal.
After a 4-8 season, Indiana is expected to lose a good portion of its roster to the transfer portal. Quarterback Jack Tuttle announced his intentions to transfer during the season, and Campbell is the first Hoosier to enter the portal now that the 2022 season is over.
Campbell joined Indiana before the 2018 season, but he'll use his sixth and final year of college eligibility elsewhere. After using a redshirt season, Campbell first made a name for himself during the 2019 Old Oaken Bucket game at Purdue when he replaced Logan Justus, who missed all three field goal attempts. Campbell confidently nailed a 44-yard field goal in cold and rainy conditions to give Indiana a 31-23 lead with 5:08 left in regulation. Indiana would go on to win 44-41 in overtime, its most recent win over Purdue.
For the next three seasons, Campbell was a steady presence for Indiana's special teams unit. He finished his Indiana career a perfect 73-for-73 on extra points and 39-for-51 on field goals. Campbell is eighth among Indiana kickers with 39 made field goals, and he's ranks second in program history behind Pete Stoyanovich with five career 50-yard field goals.
Campbell drilled a 55-yard field goal at Maryland on Oct. 30, 2021, which is tied with Scott Bonnell for the second-longest field goal in program history behind Griffin Oakes' 58-yard kick in 2014. Campbell memorably hit a 51-yard game-winning field goal in overtime to defeat Western Kentucky and move Indiana to 3-0 early in the 2022 season.
Campbell went 3-for-3 against Illinois and 4-for-4 against Western Kentucky, but had an uncharacteristic end to the 2022 season, going 1-for-2 against Michigan State and 1-for-3 on Saturday against Purdue.
With Campbell gone, Indiana has one kicker left on the roster and one kicker in the 2023 recruiting class. Chris Freeman, a Zionsville, Ind. native who just finished his redshirt sophomore season, was Indiana's kickoff specialist in 2022. He is 2-for-2 on extra points, both of which came against Idaho in 2021, but Freeman hasn't attempted a field goal in college.
Indiana's other option is Nicolas Radicic, the No. 3 kicker in the class of 2023, according to Kohl's Professional Camps. Radicic is a senior at Coppell High School in Texas and like Campbell, he'll play in the 2023 All-American Bowl.
This spring, Radicic competed in the Kohl's May 2022 Texas Showcase Camp, where he received high praise. This camp is directed by Jamie Kohl, who is widely viewed as the most creditable source for NFL and college coaches.
"[Radicic] once again showed that he is one of the more pure ball strikers in his class," Kohl said. "His timing and athleticism allow him to maximize his energy into the football and create great hang-time and distance in all three disciplines. Radicic was one of the top performers during the 2021 Kohl's Winter Ranking camps. He hit multiple field goals that are at the college level and also demonstrated that he has the leg strength on punts to be a great combo specialist. Radicic has the talent to play in college at the Power Five level!"
Related stories on Indiana football
- CAMPBELL'S GAME-WINNER: Charles Campbell's 51-yard field goal in overtime gave Indiana a 33-30 win over Western Kentucky on Saturday. Campbell had an uncharacteristic miss the previous week against Idaho, but bounced back to hit 4-of-4 field goals on Saturday. CLICK HERE
- TOM BREW COLUMN: Several decisions by Indiana football coach Tom Allen and his staff have backfired over the past two seasons, and now that a 4-8 disaster is over, how hard is it going to be to keep Indiana's best players in town? It's Allen's biggest challenge, for sure. CLICK HERE
- GAME STORY:The 2022 Indiana football season came to an end on Saturday night in a 30-16 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers, who won the Big Ten West division and Old Oaken Bucket trophy with this victory. CLICK HERE
- DEXTER WILLIAMS II TAKEN TO HOSPITAL Indiana redshirt quarterback Dexter Williams II was carted off with a non-contact injury late in the first quarter of the Old Oaken Bucket game against Purdue. CLICK HERE
- WATCH JAYLIN LUCAS' 71-YARD TOUCHDOWN: Watch this replay of Indiana freshman running back Jaylin Lucas as he scores a 71-yard touchdown to put the Hoosiers up 7-3 in the first quarter over Purdue. CLICK HERE
