Michigan State’s coaches must have felt they erred in their junior evaluation when they viewed a piece of Luke Campbell’s senior film, four months ago.

MSU coaches liked Campbell when the 6-foot-4, 260-pound offensive lineman from Olentangy (Ohio) High School camped in East Lansing in June. However, the staff wanted to continue to evaluate him in September. Campbell didn't want to wait that long.

Campbell eventually committed to Michigan State on Sunday, after spending months as a Purdue commitment with no clear signs that he would become a Spartan - until recently.

When Campbell exited MSU camp without a scholarship offer from the Spartans, he accepted a Purdue offer and committed to the Boilermakers on June 19.

“Luke wanted to play in the Big Ten,” said Campbell’s father, Chris.

Campbell didn’t want to wait until September to try to impress Michigan State with his senior film.

In July, Michigan State cut ties with commitment Gavin Cupp after he camped at Ohio State. This freed up a scholarship slot at the position.

With Campbell no longer available, MSU moved forward by offering a scholarship to A.J. Arcuri, a lineman who plays for Campbell’s crosstown rival, Olentangy Liberty High.

Arcuri starred as a mammoth defensive lineman at Liberty High, and rarely played o-line at the high school level. But MSU projected Arcuri as an offensive lineman and offered him a scholarship based on the tools he displayed as a 6-foot-6, 250-pound power athlete at MSU’s camp.

It’s unclear whether MSU would have preferred Arcuri over Campbell if Campbell had remained uncommitted. But Campbell headed into the autumn as a proud Boilermaker commitment and a Spartan-sized chip on his shoulder.

“I’m just being honest,” said Olentangy High School coach Mark Solis. “Michigan State was his No. 1 choice from day one. And he had been up there a few times and just fell in love with the place.”

Mr. Campbell agreed.

“Michigan State was really his top choice,” said Chris Campbell. “The success that the Michigan State program has had over the years, the style of football, the aggressiveness and the stability over time - all of that appealed to him and all of that was very visible.”

But Michigan State’s recruiting train headed into the fall without Campbell aboard. Campbell didn’t plan on turning his back on Purdue. All parties were somewhat satisfied.

Then Campbell’s Olentangy High school team played Arcuri’s Olentangy Liberty High during the first week of September.

“Luke was like, ‘I’m going to show you you offered the wrong guy,’” Solis said. “That’s how Luke is. Luke was disappointed that A.J. had received the offer in July and he didn’t.”

Arcuri spent most of the game at or near the nose tackle position, and not directly across from left tackle Campbell. But when Arcuri occasionally moved to right defensive end and they matched up, Campbell - despite giving up two inches and a few pounds - fared extremely well.

Solis would go a bit farther with his breakdown of the matchup.

“I just remember Luke got after his tail pretty good,” Solis said. “You saw the tape. You saw it for yourself. No doubt about it.”

In actuality, we at SpartanMag only saw highlights. But Campbell certainly had good moments in the highlights we viewed.

“Luke did a good job staying low, constantly moving his feet,” Solis said. “He uses his hands extremely well. He finishes.”

When it came time for MSU coaches to check in on Arcuri’s progress, and do a little war room research on Campbell in case his recruitment opened back up, Spartan staff members saw the Campbell-Arcuri matchup. They still love Arcuri, but they also had a great appreciation for the progress Campbell had made.

“Yeah, they saw that tape,” Solis said with a laugh. “I don’t know where they were at the in summer, but things changed when they saw his tape from his senior year and Luke just kept standing out on tape to them.”

Sources indicate that Michigan State didn’t try to pry Campbell away from his Purdue commitment, but Spartan coaches were prepared to pounce if he backpedaled on Purdue.

Then in mid-January, Campbell reopened his recruitment after Purdue’s offensive line coach left the Boilermakers to become an assistant coach at Duke.

“When Luke committed to Purdue, he was fully-committed to Purdue,” said Chris Campbell. “When you do that in June, you are hoping the program is on the upswing. They had some challenges during the year and Luke stuck with it and respects their coaching staff.

“Once the season ended, there were a number of changes and the final straw was when the offensive line coach (Jim Bridge) announced he was leaving. With a number of changes like that, it was time to just make sure about things and look at other options.”

Iowa State, Syracuse and Maryland came in with new scholarship offers.

“And the final offer was the one we were really hoping for - Michigan State,” Chris Campbell said.

MSU head coach Mark Dantonio called the Campbell home on Sunday night, Jan. 16 to extend the offer.

“Coach Dantonio called us late on Sunday night because he knew we were on a visit to Iowa State that weekend, so he was respecting the process and didn’t want to contact us over the weekend during the visit,” Chris Campbell said. “He waited until we got home and made the call and he spoke with Luke.”

The MSU staff figured Iowa State had played host to a good visit, and Dantonio did not want to let Campbell get away again. New Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell had recruited Luke Campbell for two years, dating back to when the current Cyclones staff was at the University of Toledo. Toledo was the first Division I school to offer Campbell a scholarship. MSU had some catching-up to do. Dantonio didn’t want to wait till Monday morning to make contact.

MSU didn’t push for a commitment during his Sunday night conversation with Luke Campbell. Dantonio asked for Campbell to schedule an official visit to Michigan State during the key Jan. 22 weekend.

Dantonio followed up with a trip to Olentangy High on Thursday to meet with Campbell and his coach. They finalized plans for Campbell’s official visit to MSU.

“Luke had been up there three times prior - for a junior elite visit, a spring practice and camp,” said Chris Campbell. “All of those experiences were great, and Michigan State was at the top of his list. But we never got to really meet the coaching staff and see what’s behind the scenes. Once we did that, we saw it was just fantastic.

“With Coach Dantonio and his staff and the program, there is this family feeling, this honesty and transparency. What came across with You can tell by the character not only of himself but the entire staff and everything that there is this honesty. Everything felt right for Luke as far as committing. It was very exciting. We were very honored to be a part of it.”

Campbell played almost entirely on the offensive line at Olentangy High. But Dantonio voiced an interest in looking at Campbell on either side of the ball.

“Coach Dantonio talked a little bit about the Michigan State program and what they are looking for in the type of ‘power athlete’ that Luke is, and he said they felt Luke would be a great fit at Michigan State,” Chris Campbell said. “He said they liked his character, first and foremost, and that’s what they look for in a player. Second, they said they love his power and his quickness as a big man. His camp results were fantastic, they said. They liked his explosiveness and his attitude, his attitude in finishing."

Campbell put up good numbers in the measurable drills at the MSU camp, hence the "fantastic" rating from coaches. But they still wanted to see senior film. When they saw it, four months later, they saw physicality on the upswing.

“When they said they have him as a ‘power athlete,’ that means offensive line or defensive line," said Mr. Campbell. "They were very honest about that and said they felt Luke can bring some value to the program on either side of the ball.

“Luke was impressed with their evaluation and certainly hasn’t seen himself on the defensive side of the ball but trusts what the coaching staff sees, and they showed him a lot of example of where they have done that with players in the past.”

Luke Campbell became convinced. He announced his commitment to Michigan State via Twitter on Sunday, shortly after the official visit weekend concluded.

Rivals.com ranks Campbell the No. 25 prospect in Ohio and the No. 5 offensive lineman in Ohio - right behind No. 4 Cupp.

Campbell helped Olentangy High go 11-2 and advance to the Division 1 quarterfinals.

“I’m pissed off about Luke going to Michigan State,” Soliss said. “I want him to play for me for another year!

“No, I’m really happy for him. I told Mark Dantonio, ‘You guys are getting a good one here.’

“I said, ‘You guys are getting used to winning championships and this kid is going to help you win more championships.’

“He is the best offensive lineman I’ve had in 17 years of head coaching. He is athletic, he bends his knees well, he blocks well in space. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He’s nasty. He finishes. He is competitive. He doesn’t like to lose.

“He has played in a lot of big football games for us, going to the semifinals last year and the elite eight this year. He has unbelievable character. I told Coach Dantonio, ‘You will never have a problem with this kid.’

“He will probably have to redshirt a year and take a whole year to get his body up to where it needs to be. But he will put in the work.”

Campbell was a bit of a late bloomer as a college prospect.

“We thought he had a chance during his sophomore year,” Solis said. “You could see the athleticism. Then he had a little bit of a growth spurt. He had a little bit of a back issue when he was a sophomore and I said, ‘If you trust what we do in the weight room, you will never have a back issue again,’ and he did buy into what we do in the weight room and he hasn’t had an issue since. He had a really good junior year in his off-season and really changed his body.”

That’s when he showed up at camps and started gaining interest, and the eventual Purdue offer.

Solis spoke comfortably with Spartan o-line coach Mark Staten. They have known each other since Staten’s days as a graduate assistant at Ohio State in 2002.

Solis has known co-offensive coordinator Jim Bollman for more than 10 years, and has gotten to know defensive coordinator Mike Tressel in the past three years.

But Solis hadn’t had a chance to get to know Dantonio, until the past few weeks. Solis enjoyed talking football with Dantonio.

“Coach Dantonio likes the tenacity that Luke shows, his athleticism,” Solis said. “He has a pop to him. He snaps those hips real well.

“Coach Dantonio just saw a good, big athlete - a kid that is going to continue to grow into his body.”

Campbell serves as a captain for Olentangy High this fall. He has a 3.35 GPA and was named Olentangy Scholar Athlete of the Year.

“He plays with an edge to him,” Solis said. “He is not a dirty player, but he has an edge and we’re okay with that as long as is not drawing personal fouls. The game of football is played by tough people and he is definitely a tough person.”

On film, Campbell is often seen slinging opponents to the field with apparent ease with shoulder clubs and shoulder wipes.

“A lot of that is from all the weight room work we’ve done,” Solis said. “He is a very powerful young man. He has powerful legs and he is still going to get stronger.”

Campbell benches 325 and squats more than 500.

“The most impressive thing is his power clean,” Solis said. “He power cleans 300 right now.”

That’s where the hip strength comes from.

Campbell starred as the cornerstone blocker for Olentangy’s multiple offense. Olentangy runs interior zone, and power in the ground game. They pull Campbell and utilize his force on counters and tackle traps. They also run a variety of pass plays, with Campbell showing he can get into a pass set, move his feet, keep his heels down and play with a good foundational layer of technique that is uncommon at the high school level.

“He has a very good football IQ,” Solis said. “He understands an odd front versus an even front. He understands where the pressure points are at.

“We play a college style offense. He can do a lot in our offense because we do a lot. We have 16 different run blocking schemes and four or five different pass protections. That’s why I think his learning curve has unbelievable upside. He’s going to be able to pick up on things and keep learning.

“Physically, he’s strong. Athletically, he can pull and gets around the corner quick, gets his shoulders square.”

Campbell has a fist full of highlight plays. But a non-highlight may have impressed Solis the most.

In one of the early-season games, Campbell didn’t hear an audible call that changed a pass play to a quarterback draw. Normally, Campbell transitions from his pass set to downfield run blocking with exceptional quickness on the QB draw. This time, Campbell was late coming out of his pass set and didn’t explode downfield for the run blocking component of the QB draw.

When Solis asked Campbell about his apparent nonchalant blocking, Campbell fired right back.

“Don’t you ever question me coach! I go hard every play! I didn’t get the call!” Campbell told Solis.

Solis believed every word.

“That’s what I love about the young man,” Solis said. “He stands up for what’s right. He understands what it means to be accountable. If he makes a mistake, he’ll own it.”

But there isn’t likely to be many shortcomings on the effort end of things with Campbell. There certainly wasn’t on that night when he battled with Arcuri.

“It was like two gladiators going at it,” said Chris Campbell. “It was something to watch.”

Arcuri’s team won.

“We needed to be humbled,” Solis says now.

Campbell’s team ended up having the better season.

Now, those two cross-town rivals are going to become teammates at Michigan State.

“They knew each other a little bit during the camps,” Chris Campbell said.

But team rivalries prevented them from becoming friendly.

Now, that has all changed. Wise men are predicting that these two former rivals who once competed for an MSU scholarship slot are going to become ultra tight.

“You could see that coming together during the weekend,” Mr. Campbell said.

Arcuri was in East Lansing for his official visit last weekend as well.

“They hung out quite a bit, along with Austin Andrews,” said Mr. Campbell. “That was a sight to see.”

Spartan fans are likely to see a lot more from them in the coming years, as part of the 2016 recruiting class and possibly the 2020 Spartan class of redshirt seniors.