BOONEVILLE, Miss. - For the third time in his coaching career, Steadman Campbell is switching sides of the football to take up a new opportunity at Northeast Mississippi Community College.
Campbell is being promoted to the Tigers' offensive coordinator ahead of the 2024 campaign. He most recently served in this same role from 2016-17 at the University of North Alabama.
He originally arrived at Northeast one year ago as its defensive backs instructor. Campbell replaces Ryan Trevathan, who accepted a position over the offseason as an analyst at the University of Alabama.
"I feel like this is going to be a great move," said Tigers head coach Greg Davis. "Steadman is a hard worker that knows what it takes to win. He understands what it takes to evaluate talent. He's very smart and intuitive.
"Steadman brings that knowledge of the secondary and defense to understand what hurts them and how to attack. It's a good thing to have on our offense. We're going to be just fine."
The Fayetteville, Ark., native was in charge of North Alabama's offense during its final two seasons at the NCAA Division II level. His units averaged 366 yards, 29.4 points and over 20 first downs per contest.
His elevation to coordinator in 2016 was an instant success for the Lions, who went on to capture a fourth consecutive Gulf South Conference (GSC) title and a berth to the national championship game.
North Alabama scored more than 40 points in eight of its 13 contests, including a stretch of six in a row that started with a victory over Shorter (Ga.) University in mid-October and ended in the playoffs against the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
Quarterback Jacob Tucker headlined a group of five award winners that starred on that team for Campbell. He was the GSC Offensive Player of the Year and finished third in voting for the Harlon Hill Trophy, which is the NCAA Division II equivalent to the Heisman Trophy.
Dre Hall, who set six school records at wide receiver, was Tucker's top target with 80 catches for nearly 1,200 yards with nine touchdowns. The three-time All-GSC selection signed with the Carolina Panthers following his senior campaign with the Lions.
"I'm anxious to hit the ground running," Campbell said. "We're going to put our players in what we feel is the best position for them to have success and a lot of that is determined on what kind of skills they have. We'll orient our game plan around them.
"I had talked with coach Davis before I came over here about my background on offense. It's been a blessing for me in my career to be on both sides of the ball to kind of get a feel for what the other guys are doing. That's something we'll lean on coming into the fall."
Campbell had two defenders in Jermaine Ray and Jalik Yancey that obtained All-Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) honors after his inaugural season at Northeast.
Ray grabbed a team-best four interceptions while Yancey led the country in both pass break ups with 14 and forced fumbles with four. Yancey also topped all of the Tigers' defensive backs with 55 tackles, including 39 solo takedowns.
Four of Campbell's former standouts have inked free agent contracts with NFL franchises. Joining Hall are two more wideouts in Ed Gant and Bobby Williams, who were playmakers on North Alabama's special 2008 team that advanced to the national semifinals.
Philip Ossai, who starred on the line during Campbell's last year as the Lions' defensive coordinator, could be the fifth after recently attending rookie minicamp with the Atlanta Falcons.
Campbell is one of the longest tenured assistants in North Alabama history with 17 seasons under four different headmen. The Lions won at least 10 games and secured bids to the NCAA Division II playoffs in each of his first four campaigns.
His initial job at North Alabama was cornerbacks coach from 2006-07. Campbell flipped to work with the receivers and running backs while also handling the duties of recruiting coordinator for the next eight years.
Campbell's 2012-13 rushers racked up more than 200 yards per contest. His wideouts in 2015 helped the Lions place fourth in the nation in pass completion percentage, 13th in red zone efficiency and 23rd in scoring.
He wrapped up his time at North Alabama as the defensive coordinator for its first five years as a member of the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). His athletes excelled at forcing turnovers, including a league leading 14 interceptions in 2021.
K.J. Smith was well decorated while under the watch of Campbell. He was a two-time All-Big South Conference recipient in the backfield with 12 career interceptions and an Academic All-America® honoree from the College Sports Communicators (CSC) for three straight seasons.
Campbell broke into the profession as a graduate assistant at Alabama from 2003-05. The Crimson Tide rose to as high as third in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) rankings and defeated Texas Tech University in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic during his final campaign.
He completed a Bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas. He suited up for the Razorbacks for two years and was in the top 10 in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) as a sophomore with 16 total punt returns.
Campbell and his wife Tara have two daughters, Emmie Grace and Riley Kate. His dad, Louis, was a successful coach as well with stops in the high school, collegiate and professional ranks for over four decades.