Football: Shull, Campbell sign on the dotted line

Three more area senior football players made their destinations known for next season.

Red Wing’s Jordan Shull signed his letter of intent to play for Upper Iowa University in Fayette. Shull said the small town of Fayette (population 1,342, according to the U.S. Census Bureau) drew him to the school.

“Once I got there, it just clicked that it would be a school I could see myself going to,” he said. “The town is just homey.”

Shull said he anticipates redshirting during his first year at Upper Iowa and is slated to play on the offensive line, but he will try to play some defensive line if it means playing time sooner.

“Right now, it’s pretty much offense, but if I can wow a defensive line coach, I wouldn’t mind playing defense,” Shull said.

While the coaching staff made a good impression on Shull, three players on the team made the biggest impact.

“We had this session called “Team Q” where they talked about what the school was like,” Shull said, “and they brought us to the weight room and three kids came up and shook my hand. They were really open.”

Shull would like to major in criminal justice for a possible future as a juvenile probation officer and might minor in sports communication.

The Peacocks went 2-9 last season with a 2-9 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

There were plenty of places Ellsworth’s Alex Campbell could have walked on to play football: the University of Wisconsin, Madison, the University of Minnesota, Duluth, North Dakota State University and Valparaiso University.

But Campbell will not only walk onto the Minnesota State University, Mankato campus next fall, he will also have a scholarship in tow.

Campbell signed a national letter of intent to attend MSU-Mankato Friday afternoon in the old gymnasium at Ellsworth High School.

Campbell played on both offense and defense at Ellsworth, but he said the coaching staff at Mankato plans to use him at safety. He also said they plan to redshirt him during his first year with the Mavericks.

“It’s up to them, I’ll play wherever they need me at,” Campbell said. “I think it helps to redshirt because it will allow me to get to know my teammates and have time to fit into the program. They said they plan to redshirt most of the freshmen.”

In choosing MSU, Campbell said he talked to others he knew went there and they sold him on attending school as much as visiting the campus did.

“I liked the campus a lot when I visited but in talking to people I knew who went there, it really convinced me,” Campbell said. “They said there’s everything I could ever want was there and it made me feel confident in my decision.”

Campbell chose Minnesota State despite the fact the Mavericks will be led by interim head coach Aaron Keen. He was chosen to lead the program after previous coach Todd Hoffner was removed from his post last August due to a scandal revolving around the use of a university issued cellphone. In Hoffman’s absence, Keen led the Mavericks to one of the school’s best seasons ever, 13-1 overall, winning the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title and advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. He received several coaching awards in the offseason.

“I didn’t think much about it but they told recruits about what was going on,” Campbell said. “They were very straight forward about it. And I was very impressed with the coaching staff.”

Ellsworth head coach Clair Austin said Campbell impressed him right away in the first practices he held in his first season with the Panthers’ football program.

“He’s very athletic to begin with, but he had the best skills I had ever seen in coaching defensive backs,” Austin said. “Not only will Minnesota State get a very good player but a quality kid. He’s going to do what they need him to do. The coaches there will be impressed with his abilities and Alex as a person.”

Football wasn’t even on Campbell’s mind when he was a freshman at Ellsworth. He said he planned on running cross-country until his father talked him into playing football.

“I’m glad he did because from that point on I’ve loved football more and more,” Campbell said.

Campbell plans on studying to be a physical trainer.

Saul Carter, a senior at Cannon Falls High School, will attend Rochester Community Technical College as a defensive lineman.

Carter had nine sacks during his senior season, including three in the playoffs as the Bombers reached the Section 4AAA finals for the first time since 1996. Carter will join a Yellowjackets team that went 9-2 last year and finished as Minnesota College Athletic Conference State Runner-Up.

--Chris Harrell and Sean Scallon contributed to this report

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