Change to football works well for Maine transplant Demetrius Campbell of OCP

Editor’s note: The Orlando area is full of talented offensive linemen who are college football prospects. There has probably never been a time like this in the history of Orlando high schools. So we are recognizing this surge in talented big guys in the Class of 2025 with a six-part series, “The Heavies.”

Friday: Parker Moss, Olympia

Saturday: Alex Oats and Aleks Freyman, Bishop Moore

Sunday: Nico Marti, West Orange

Monday: Jaden Wilkerson, Edgewater

Today: Demetrius Campbell, OCP

Wednesday: Jaquez Joiner, Cocoa/UCF commit

Black bears are common in Maine, the state where Demetrius Campbell grew up, and Florida, the state in which he resides today. Here, however, the 6-6, 300-pound offensive tackle at Orlando Christian Prep is more like a grizzly.

He’s a big bear surrounded by plenty of cubs in the world of Central Florida football players, and he wreaks havoc on the opposition from his offensive tackle spot. That wasn’t his plan, at first.

“I actually came here to play basketball,” Campbell said. “I moved before my sophomore year and on my tour of the school I saw Coach D [Guerschom Demosthenes] and Coach Scott [McIntyre], my two football coaches, and they told me I was meant to be a football player.”

Campbell took heed of the assessment and has never wavered.

He knows he has the size to fit the part, but it took him a while to realize what the offensive line was all about.

“Actually, when I first came into it, I kind of thought linemen were just big and strong,” he said. “But after a while of playing, I realized it’s more about technique. It’s been a good journey for me. I’ve had good coaches and trainers around me to help me with all of that.”

Campbell, the No. 20 player in the Sentinel’s 2025 Central Florida Super60 , has worked diligently to master offensive lineman techniques and has been pretty impressive after just two years of high school football.

“With [2022 season] being my first year of playing football, I feel like I’ve improved a whole lot compared to this year,”  Campbell said. “You can see it in my film with just everything. I have gotten a whole lot better.”

He already has 17 Football Bowl Subdivision scholarship offers. UCF, Miami and Ole Miss have shown considerable interest.

“Recruiting has been pretty good lately. It really started to pick up toward the end of February and it’s been blowing up since then,” Campbell said. “It’s been extremely exciting and I’ve put in a lot of work. I’ve talked to my coaches a lot about this and they told me it was going to come.”

Outside of practicing with his own team, Campbell also has been working this offseason with Chad Mavety, the former Lake Minneola O-line coach who is now at Orlando’s The First Academy.

Campbell attributes a lot of his athleticism to being a former basketball player, but he’s a football guy now.

“I fell in love with it after my first year. I have learned to love it, a lot,” he said.

Campbell has an older brother, Dom, a 6-9, 268-pound forward who plays at Howard University after transferring from Notre Dame.

“He had like 30-something offers, so he already knows how everything works and he’s been helping me a lot with the recruiting stuff.”

Chris Hays can be found on X @ OS_ChrisHays . He can be reached via email at chays@orlandosentinel.com .