
Texas A&M surprises Lions head coach Dan Campbell with Lifetime Achievement Award
Texas A&M and the Detroit Lions teamed up to surprise beloved Lions head coach Dan Campbell with an award to recognize his career achievements.
The Texas A&M Football account shared a video Wednesday afternoon of the "interview" setup with Campbell's old strength coach Mike Clark. Campbell was told that he was just there to talk about his time playing for the Aggies.
As Campbell sat down across from Clark, a video appeared on the TV screen between them with a message from former Aggies head coach R.C. Slocum.
"I know this comes as a surprise -- this is not an interview," Slocum said.
"From everybody here in Aggieland, I wanted to congratulate you on what an awesome career that you have had and continue to have."
The video continued to play messages from Campbell's former A&M teammates congratulating him for earning the Lettermen's Association 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award. Campbell watched on with emotion as the video wrapped up and his family walked out to embrace him.
"Are you kidding me? You guys knew?" Campbell said to his family as they walked out.
"I'm honored... I love my Aggies man... thank you to all my teammates, R.C., love you to death."
Campbell played tight end for four seasons at Texas A&M from 1995-1998. The New York Giants selected Campbell in the 3rd round of the 1999 NFL Draft.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
19 minutes ago
- USA Today
2025 Arizona Cardinals training camp roster preview: DL Calais Campbell
We will preview every player on the Cardinals roster leading up to training camp. This is about DL Calais Campbell. The Arizona Cardinals report to training camp on July 22 and begin the process of preparing for the regular season, forming the roster and determining starting jobs and roles on the team. Leading up to the start of camp, we will take a look at every player on the offseason roster, their background, their contract, their play in 2024, questions they face and their roster outlook. Next up is defensive lineman Calais Campbell. Calais Campbell background, 2024 season Campbell returns for his much-rejoiced second stint in Arizona after being selected by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2008 draft. He was in the desert for nine seasons, playing 138 games and starting 120. His totals were 501 tackles (382 solo, 107 for loss), 56.5 sacks, 124 quarterback hits, 42 passes defensed, three interceptions and eight each of forced fumbles and fumble recoveries. He played his next eight seasons with the Jaguars (three), Ravens (three), Falcons (one) and Dolphins (one). In his 261-game career (242 starts), Campbell has amassed 917 tackles (651 solo, 187 for loss), 110.5 sacks, 18 forced fumbles and 13 fumble recoveries. His career defensive snaps total 9,485 and 1,773 on special teams. Last season with the Dolphins, he started all 17 games and played 615 defensive snaps (58 percent) with 170 (38 percent) on special teams. Campbell had 52 tackles (35 solo, 12 for loss), 5.0 sacks, five passes defensed and one forced fumble. Consider this: If he plays at least 515 snaps this season, that would bring his career total to 10,000. Calais Campbell 2025 contract details, cap hit On April 10, Campbell signed a one-year contract as an unrestricted free agent worth $5.5 million with $4.25 million guaranteed, including a $2 million signing bonus. His $2.25 million base salary is guaranteed and the salary-cap charge is $6 million. 2025 questions, roster outlook Campbell will turn 39 on Sept. 1, so the only question is the number of snaps he will play. With a line unit that has solid depth, there will be plenty of opportunity in the rotation coordinator Nick Rallis' scheme employs. Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Kalif Raymond on new Lions OC John Morton: 'He expects us to be crafty'
Kalif Raymond came to Detroit five years ago as a young player hoping to establish himself in a bigger and better role after a few seasons of being a deep reserve on other squads. The diminutive receiver accomplished that goal, starting 14 games in the first year of the Dan Campbell era with the Lions and catching almost triple the amount of passes that season (48) than he had in his first four (19). Now, Raymond is a valuable reserve wideout as well as an All-Pro punt returner. Raymond, who turns 31 in a couple of weeks, is also an invaluable leadership presence in the locker room and Detroit's practice field. After Sunday's first practice session, Raymond graciously granted select reporters a few minutes. The focus of the conversation, after a lengthy laugh about luxury sunglasses, was on the new coaching in the wide receiver room. Detroit has a new offensive coordinator in John Morton, who replaces now-Bears head coach Ben Johnson. "Very intense, very passionate," Raymond said of his first impression of Morton as the coordinator. The attention to detail that Morton demands stood out to Raymond. "Detail, but also when he's explaining what we're doing (as WRs) he doesn't pass over the craftiness," Raymond said of Morton. "(Morton says) I don't want guys to just be robots or lines on paper. He understands the ins and outs of playing receiver ... he's expecting us to be crafty." That's a divergence from how Johnson approached the receivers. He often micromanaged the timing and spacing details, demanding more conformity than what Morton--who played wideout at Western Michigan and in the CFL before turning to coaching--has asked from the WR room. Raymond also noted that Morton is giving him and the other receivers "plenty of room to carve out their niche" in the offense. There has also been a change at the wide receivers coach. Scottie Montgomery moved over from his long-time RB coach role to replace Antwan Randle-El, who joined Johnson in Chicago. Raymond already had a lot of respect for Montgomery, and that's quickly growing. "Man, the level of detail is phenomenal. Just the focus on the little stuff we do," an upbeat Raymond said of Montgomery. "When I go out there I know exactly what I'm doing. I know how to do it, what the expectations are. I might know today (assignment/expectations) two days ago." Raymond added that the running backs told him Montgomery would be incredibly well-prepared, and that's proven true already.


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Former Texas A&M Edge remains unsigned with Cincinnati before Training Camp
The Shemar Stewart saga continued this weekend as NFL rookies around the country reported to camp, except for the former five-star prospect and Texas A&M edge who was selected 17th overall in the 2025 NFL draft by the Cincinnati Bengals, who have yet to sign the Miami native. Due to a disagreement in the contract language, the Bengals' front office continues to stall, and as Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio puts it, this isn't a regular occurrence compared to past examples where rookies are looking to "squeeze" front offices into shelling out more money. "That's what the Bengals have done. For reasons neither known nor apparent (other than 'they wanted to'), the Bengals have changed the default language in their contracts to extend the consequences of voided guarantees to the balance of the deal. It's a new term, and this year's rookies are the Cincinnati guinea pigs." Stewart is looking to be financially protected no matter what happens during his four-year contract with the franchise, and when nearly all of the other 31 NFL teams have come to agreements with their drafted rookies, the fact that a first-round pick is still in this situation just days before NFL training camps begin is truly bizarre. While some, including Mike Florio, believe this is about "power" from the Bengals' point of view, Stewart's options likely don't include a return to the college football ranks after Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko shot down the idea during SEC media days, while sitting out for a full season to potentially re-enter the draft will place him behind the eight ball on the field. While this is strictly Florio's opinion, Cincinnati would be wise to finalize a deal this week and avoid any further national embarrassment. In the NFL, winning is everything, and personal empowerment should take a backseat. "They're prioritizing that power over winning. If they truly cared about winning, they'd come up with a win-win that would get Stewart in camp and get him ready to help the Bengals not stumble out of the gates." Cincinnati's 2025 training camp will begin on Wednesday, July 23. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.