Campbell's NFL dream on hold

One of the feel-good stories of this year's NFL Draft was Caleb Campbell, the West Point graduate the Army said could play in the league this season if he was drafted and made a team's roster.

As part of its marathon draft coverage, ESPN assigned a reporter and camera crew to watch and wait with Campbell as the selections were made. Finally, in the seventh round with the 218th pick, the Detroit Lions took the 6-foot-2, 230-pound safety. It was reality TV at its best, the notion that this young man might be able to avoid a tour in Iraq and instead take his shot at a career in pro football.

Campbell was due to report to the Lions' training camp Thursday, but a day earlier he was informed by the Army that he would be required to serve at least two years on active duty before he could apply to be released. The second lieutenant who trained as an air defense artilleryman told The Oakland Press of Pontiac he cried when he got the news.

“I was initially shocked, but you know when duty calls,” Campbell told the paper. “I can’t do much about it. I’m being optimistic about everything, taking it with a smile, having a good attitude about it, disappointed that I didn’t get my one shot, but that’s OK because when I went to the academy I initially went to the academy to be an officer."

Despite the disappointment, there will still be football in Campbell's immediate future. For the coming year he'll serve as a graduate assistant football coach for the Army, either at the U.S. Military Academy or the service academy’s preparatory school.