Always Moving Forward
Alex Semadeni
As the clock ticked closer to kickoff ahead of one of the biggest games in program history, Albertsons Stadium was rocking.
The then-No. 25 Boise State Broncos were set to face Washington State in front of a boisterous crowd, with plenty at stake. Sitting with a 2-1 record against an undefeated foe, the Bronco faithful were on scene in hopes to witness a season-defining win against a highly-respected opponent.
As Buster Bronco ran onto the field to a roaring crowd, three members of the team sat in the tunnel, ready to lead the team out on The Blue. Carrying the famed Dan Paul Hammer was sixth-year defensive lineman Michael Callahan, a familiar face to Bronco fans. Carrying the United States flag was redshirt junior linebacker Marco Notarainni. And holding the “Bleed Blue” flag, was wide receiver Cameron Camper.
The distinction was an honor to Camper, who was about to play in just his second career game on The Blue. Carrying the flag, which represents a player who best embodied the blue-collar nature of the program that week, meant a lot to the native Texan.
Camper has dealt with a plethora of football-related adversities throughout his career. He barely found the field during his time at Lancaster High School, didn’t make it past his initial tryout in junior college, and once it seemed like he made it, was forced to navigate to back-to-back season-ending injuries. After committing to Boise State in December of 2023, Camper didn’t have a chance to prove himself as a wideout until fall camp.
At every possible roadblock he faced, Camper found a way through. Through five games on the season, he has demonstrated to all that he’s become a key component to one of the most explosive offenses in the nation. His effectiveness on the field comes as the result of many hours spent in the shadows, finding ways to improve without partaking on the field.
His success is a direct result of always being focused on what’s next.
Camper’s football career began at four years old with the Cowboys, a youth team that his local YMCA put together. His natural speed was evident, and he became a standout running back, a position he played up until middle school. Noticing a long line of kids who wanted to play the position, he decided to switch to wide receiver to get more repetitions.
“I figured that I wasn’t going to be able to get any reps at running back so I just decided to play receiver,” Camper said. “It worked out that I was pretty good.”
Camper went on to compete for Lancaster High School, a team that was full of Division I talent. After spending his first two seasons on the junior varsity team, he played varsity as a junior, but didn’t see much time on the field. As his senior year rolled around, he was more recognized as a basketball player, playing a key role on a high school team that finished with a 31-3 record. But on the football field? Next to no playing time.
Camper wanted to play at the next level but because of the lack of game film, he didn’t get any offers. He spent a semester at Sam Houston State as a student, but frustrated without the game of football in his life, decided to find a work-around.
He elected to shoot for the junior college route, but he knew that he would have to make some changes. He hired a personal trainer for the first time in his life, gaining 20 pounds of muscle as he began preparing for college ball. He knew some friends at Trinity Valley Junior College in Avery, Texas, and decided to try out for the team. When he arrived on campus, he ran into another hurdle.
“I didn’t make the first tryout,” Camper said. “I don’t know why I didn’t make it. I came back for another tryout and ended up making the team.”
The junior college experience was difficult, but not because of football. His time with the Cardinals coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, and there wasn’t much to do besides hang out with teammates.
“We all stayed in the same building called, ‘The Bricks,’: said Camper. “My teammates were basically all I had. We weren’t allowed to go to other dorms. Our team was really close and I realized how valuable that can be to winning. I learned that you have to rely on your teammates.”
As a freshman during the spring season (due to COVID-19), Camper helped lead the Cardinals to a 6-2 record. He finished the year catching 22 passes for 353 yards and a touchdown, averaging 88.3 receiving yards per game and 16.0 yards per catch.
During his sophomore season, he increased his numbers to 28 receptions, 505 yards and three touchdowns; more importantly, he started to draw interest from FBS coaches. He heard from Hawaii, Liberty, New Mexico, Texas State, Toledo and UCF. After drawing more attention later in the season, he decided to commit to Indiana.
“I ended up picking Indiana because I just wanted to play against the best people,” Camper said. “I knew I was going there with a good chance to start if I could handle my business. I just wanted to play against the best.”
The best is what he got. Camper prepped studiously in anticipation of the difference in talent from the junior college level to the FBS ranks. To add to the intensity, Indiana’s first game was against an Illinois team that featured one of the best defensive backs in the country – Devon Witherspoon.
Camper spent time in the film room studying Witherspoon (who would go on to be picked fifth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft). That preparation paid off, with Camper finishing his FBS debut with 11 receptions and 156 yards en route to a 23-20 victory. A star was born.
“That game was definitely lit,” Camper said. “I was heavy on studying his whole game, and I ended up playing really well against him. That was definitely exciting. That little break I had before I went to Indiana, I was putting in a lot of work. I just figured that the work was going to pay off eventually. Even in the summer, I just had my head down and was working every day. I knew it was going to pay off.”
Camper used the debut to propel what would become an electric start to the season, helping Indiana to a 3-0 start. His best game came against Cincinnati, where he finished with 10 receptions and 126 yards. He was the team’s leading receiver, becoming the top target on offense. Through seven games, he hauled in 46 passes for 569 total yards and notched a pair of touchdowns.
That electrifying season screeched to a halt when during a matchup against Rutgers on Oct. 22, 2022, Camper went down with an injury on a screen pass.
“I had caught a few passes on that drive,” Camper recalled. “They came back to me on a screen pass and I just made a weird cut and got caught up in the turf. I got tackled at the same time and got twisted around. It hurt, but it wasn’t anything crazy. It was more like my leg just felt like it was hanging there a little bit. I hopped up and thought I was good. They ended up taking me back to take a test on my knee and the athletic trainer started shaking his head. I knew then that I was going to be out awhile. I definitely cried.”
Camper had torn his ACL, ending his season immediately. Though devastated in the moment, he quickly shifted his mentality, immediately focusing on what it would take to get back on the field.
“Right after I cried, I was really calm,” he said. “There wasn’t much I could do. I thought, ‘it is what it is.’ I just had to rehab and shake it because I knew I had more football to play. I knew I had to get it better.”
Camper aggressively tackled the rehab through the spring of 2023, battling through its repetitive nature in the early days. Though he missed competing with his teammates, over time his rehab transitioned to on-field workouts, and he began to feel fully functional again.
However as his ACL returned to full strength, Camper began battling minor injuries with his other knee. Fully cleared to play ahead of the 2023 season, there were several games where he didn’t know if he could manage the pain. He toughed it out, but suffered a blow in the second game of the season against Indiana State.
“I made a move on somebody, a move that was similar to the same move I made when I tore my ACL,” Camper said. “Originally I thought that a helmet hit me but once I watched the video I realized that it wasn’t a helmet that hit me at all. I just stuck in the ground real hard.”
Camper tore his patella on the play. He attempted to play though it for a few games, but quickly realized he couldn’t perform at full strength. Facing another roadblock, he made the tough decision to get surgery again. Though many in his position would go through a period of disbelief, Camper was seemingly unfazed.
“I handled the second injury way better because I felt like everything was going to be fixed,” Camper said. “I felt better about the surgery because it was the last thing we could do to try to figure out how we get this right. It was just a surgery. We got that repaired and then I was ready to go after that.”
Camper underwent successful surgery towards the end of the 2023 season, but after his head coach was fired, he decided to enter the transfer portal. As he thought through his options, Camper knew that he would be spending the spring and summer recuperating from the surgery, and wanted to choose a place that would be proactive about his recovery.
Enter Boise State. Camper had known wide receiver Latrell Caples, and as the recruitment process heated up, Camper asked Caples several questions about Boise State. As Caples was working back through an injury of his own, he was the perfect person to ask about how the Broncos would handle the rehab process.
“I really trusted Latrell,” Camper. “He spoke highly about how Garrett [Holle] was as an athletic trainer. He made me feel really comfortable about the situation. I felt really confident that he was going to get me back so I just rolled with it.”
He decided to spend his final season of eligibility at Boise State, choosing the Broncos over schools such as Liberty, UAB and Washington State.
When he set foot on campus as an official Bronco, he instantly realized that the culture that was talked about in the recruiting pitch wasn’t just words.
“I could tell what type of place this was,” Camper said. “This place has all the rings everywhere, the trophies from all the championships. I knew walking into this place that you come here to win. But the culture here backs that up. Everyone was reaching out to help me get settled. I instantly fit in with so many guys. It’s truly a family here. You just get in line with it or you get left behind.”
Camper wasn’t fully cleared to play by the time spring ball came around, but that didn’t stop him from improving in other ways. After his rehab sessions, he would also stick around the facility to make sure he properly learned the playbook. Even though he missed the majority of summer training, he would run routes on The Blue with the quarterbacks, earning the admiration and trust of Maddux Madsen.
By the time fall camp rolled around, Camper was fully cleared, but he wasn't initially sure how he would fit in offensively. But after stacking multiple productive days together in practice, it became apparent that there would be a role for him in the Bronco offense.
In yet another impressive debut, Camper caught four passes for 99 yards in his first game donning the Blue and Orange against Georgia Southern. He caught his first touchdown pass as a Bronco against No. 7 Oregon, finishing the contest with 52 yards on four receptions.
“Talking about Cam Camper, he’s a guy that’s missed all of spring ball due to injury, missed a majority of summer training because he was still rehabbing from the injury. He really comes on the scene in fall camp. Alright Cam Camper, what do we got? Since he’s been here, he’s been early to everything, lives in the training room, does everything we need him to do in the weight room, was just in the film room when I walked down these stairs. That’s who Cam Camper is. Some of the stuff he’s doing now is not shocking to the staff because we’ve continue to see him work to grow and develop.” – head coach Spencer Danielson in his weekly press conference on Sept. 30, 2024.
Two games in and Camper had already solidified himself as a key component of the Boise State offense. As the team prepared for a three-game homestand, he had no idea what to expect upon stepping on The Blue in front of Bronco Nation. He was blown away.
“These past few games are probably the most fun games I’ve ever been a part of,” Camper said. “[Against Washington State] I got to run out with the ‘Bleed Blue’ flag, so that was special. That was probably the most fun I’ve had in a game. The atmosphere was insane. The lights going in and out was nuts.”
As Boise State continues to capture the attention of not only the Treasure Valley, but national pundits as well, Camper remains focused on what’s gotten him to this point so far: focusing solely on the future.
“I definitely feel really good right now,” Camper said. “We feel like we’re in a good spot. We just continue to get better every week. We are intentional about making sure we don't get complacent because, especially after we’ve won a few games, there’s a target on our back every week.”
Camper and the Boise State Broncos will travel to Hawaii for a 9 p.m. MT kickoff on Saturday, October 12. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network and heard on the Bronco Radio Network..