Former Tennessee offensive lineman John Campbell Jr. won the United Football League championship with the Louisville Kings on Saturday. The Kings, in their first season in the league, defeated the D.C. Defenders by a score of 27-20 in Washington.
The Defenders had two former Tennessee players on their own roster, with VFL cornerback Bryce Thompson and VFL punter Paxton Brooks.
View this post on Instagram
More From RTI: Clemson Commit, Local Prospect Tweets Out ‘GBO’ After Kenneth Simon’s Flip to Tennessee on Saturday
Campbell originally spent his first five seasons of collegiate football at Miami before transferring to Tennessee for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
As a redshirt-senior in 2024, Campbell started all 13 games at right tackle for Tennessee’s playoff team. The Vols’ playoff matchup against Ohio State, which was his final collegiate game, ended up being the 40th start of his career.
Campbell was not selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, but he did attend minicamps with the Miami Dolphins and the San Francisco 49ers. When both of those opportunities didn’t work out, he took his talents to the UFL.
Campbell originally began the UFL season with the Houston Gamblers, but he was cut during the season in April. He soon found a new opportunity to finish the season with the Kings and eventually helped the team with their first UFL championship.
One of Campbell’s best moments at Tennessee came when he went full ‘Blind Side’ blocking with a Virginia defender in the 2023 season opener. SEC Network sideline reporter Cole Cubelic tweeted out the video, which garnered nearly five million views on X.
MY GOD John Campbell escorting a Cavalier to the stands🤯
I mean the UT kids are celebrating & he’s rolling this dude 8 yards out of the end zone!! pic.twitter.com/aeOS0MAltV
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) September 2, 2023
