'Soup' Campbell is making a difference in the Michigan receiver room
Michigan wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy learned a lot of what he knows about the position from coach Erik ‘Soup’ Campbell, having spent a lot of time in his room in the early 2000s. As such, Campbell’s return to Michigan felt extremely familiar … and it’s already paying dividends.
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The U-M pass catchers had a tough year a season ago, due in part other sketch quarterback play. There was plenty of room for improvement at the position though, and head coach Sherrone Moore knew it. Campbell’s addition appears to be a move designed to help Bellamy get the most out of his group, but there seems to be nothing but excitement about it on Bellamy’s end.
“It’s like full circle right now,” Bellamy said. “When I came in — 17 years old — he recruited me. He was my receivers coach here. Just to watch him in the room … the first thing Soup wanted to do was redecorate the receiver room, which is awesome. I told Soup he’s an interior decorator anyway … he went in and we have all the pictures of former players in the receiver room. You can see the boys kind of looking and marveling like, ‘Man … wow!’ And we do history lessons with them. We do trivia before we start every meeting.
The other day it was, ‘Coach Campbell — who was the first 1,000-yard receiver that Eric Campbell coached here?’ And the boys are looking on the wall, they’re cheating, trying to do it in chronological order. They’re like, ‘Amani Toomer?’ It’s, ‘No … actually, it’s Tai Streets.’ So, we’re teaching them the Michigan way, and now it’s not just me in there. Now I have Soup in there. It’s been awesome. He’s been an amazing addition.”
Bellamy became a contributor to some outstanding Michigan receiving rooms in his time as a player, and he had Campbell to thank. He also patterned his coaching after his mentor, crediting him for much of what he’s learned.
“He’s a technician. Soup’s a detail-oriented guy,” Bellamy continued. “He’s always been like that, chasing the details, and it really helps.
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“One thing that helps me, having one of the larger position groups on the team, numbers-wise, is having another set of eyes. Not only that, he’s the greatest receivers coach ever in the history of Michigan football. To have that guy and his expertise, someone for me to lean on — things he may see differently than me and me getting feedback from him, ‘Try this,’ or ‘Do this’ — he’s a father figure to me.”
And when he does, Bellamy said, he listens. He’s been a great addition to the room, and it should pay dividends in 2025.
“He’s done it for such a long time … 37 years,” he said. “He coached Biletnikoff Award winners, been around a Heisman Trophy winner, first-round picks. The guy knows what he’s doing.
“For me, it’s a blessing. For our room, for our football program, it’s a blessing to have Erik Campbell with us.”
