Mike Norvell has already shown that he won't hesitate to reward a walk-on with playing time and even a scholarship if the player is deserving.

The next in line for one of those honors, or both, could be redshirt freshman running back C.J. Campbell.

Fresh off of being named FSU’s Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year in 2021, Campbell has certainly continued to stand out during spring camp. He has broken off big runs in several practices and scrimmages, and he appears to be working his way into the Seminoles' main running back rotation.

“So far this spring, I feel like I’ve been playing a lot more confident. When I first got here, in the beginning I didn’t know [all of the] plays and I was still trying to get acclimated to everything,” Campbell said. “Now that I’m playing with a lot more confidence, I feel like I’m able to make more plays.”

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Campbell took an interesting route to arrive on the FSU football roster.

After moving from Louisiana to Panama City, Fla., before the start of his junior year, he starred on both sides of the ball for Bay High School yet only received interest from some smaller schools.

But a chance meeting with former FSU and current NFL defensive end Janarius Robinson -- who had gone back home to visit his alma mater -- turned out to be a major blessing for the young running back.

“Me and him exchanged contacts, and he asked me to send my film to him. He tried to help me by putting it out there, showing the coaches,” Campbell said. “Ever since then, we’ve still been in contact. I feel like he helped me out a lot. Really great guy.”

Thanks in part to Robinson's efforts, Campbell received an opportunity to join the Seminoles last fall as a preferred walk-on.

And what he found in the FSU running back room was a supportive group of fellow backs, and a position coach in David Johnson who didn't treat starter Jashaun Corbin any different than the guys at the bottom of the depth chart.

“Coach YAC (Johnson), with his room, the best man plays. He feels like everybody should be developed the same,” Campbell said. “We’re a family in that room, and he believes in all of us. That’s why he recruited us.”

The 5-foot-9, 196-pounder said that support was extremely helpful during his first few months on campus, especially when it came from backfield mate Treshaun Ward. Just a few months earlier, Ward had been elevated from preferred walk-on to scholarship player, and he went on to rush for 515 yards and four touchdowns last fall.

“I was always doubting myself, like, 'Do I belong here?'" Campbell said. "But whenever you get teammates that come up to you and are like, ‘Hey, you are really good, you belong here' ... having teammates that will build you up every day, it helps you realize that you belong.”

Campbell credited Johnson and the other FSU coaches with encouraging him as well. Even though he was usually taking reps with the scout-team offense, Campbell often received compliments from the Seminoles' staff.

“Throughout practices and everything, coaches would come up to me and be like, ‘You’re like the next Treshaun Ward,’ to encourage me to continue to get better each day,” Campbell said. “And not take any day for granted. To let me know that I am being recognized and keep going as hard as I can every day."

After turning heads in those practices last fall, Campbell has picked right up where he left off this spring.

“Everybody knows that. C.J. is that guy right now standing out during spring,” FSU defensive end Derrick McLendon said. “We already knew what he was capable of as the starting scout-team running back. Now he’s getting his opportunity this spring, and he is doing nothing but running with it, truly.”

Norvell has also praised Campbell multiple times this spring, including after the Seminoles' first scrimmage.

“C.J. Campbell came out and had a really good day,” Norvell said. “He got the ball in space and made a couple of big plays there.”

Now, the goal for Campbell is proving to FSU's coaches that he should be on the field in games this fall.

“I feel like I have done a great job at being consistent,” Campbell said. “Being someone they can trust. Making sure I am on time with everything and making sure that whenever the ball comes my way, I catch it.”'

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