If you are even slightly familiar with Florida State football recruiting, chances are you have seen the work of Klayton Campbell. Known as “KCamp” to the fan base and recruits, Campbell is a 21-year-old FSU fan, who has become well known for his graphic design.
Virtually every Florida State signee in the past two cycles has reached out to Campbell for a tailor-made picture for either their commitment or their top schools.
He’s not just limited to Florida State targets though. He now does work for recruits of all team colors. Still, his most well-known pieces involve those coming to Tallahassee.
He’s become so synonymous with Florida State commitments that more adept recruitniks check to see if he’s been recently followed by a certain recruit. If he has, that must mean a #RespectMyDecision is coming.
For someone who came up so quickly, few know some of the work that goes into the designs, and even fewer know about where Campbell started. The Daily Nole lead writer Clint Eiland exchanged messages with him last week about his graphic design, his future career plans, and his favorite work.
CE: Everyone knows KCamp, the graphics guy. What is some of your background? How’d you become an FSU fan?
KC: Well, I’ve been an FSU fan for as long as I can remember. My parents and grandparents have been FSU fans forever.
CE: How’d you get in to graphic design?
KC: I got into graphic design right out of high school for my family’s business — we do screen printing, custom apparel, team gear for local high schools, and we needed someone to do graphics, so I just sat down at a computer and started teaching myself how to do it, which was about five years ago.
CE: When did recruits start reaching out and asking you for commitment edits?
KC: I believe the first major (Division I) recruit reached out to me in 2017 for a “commitment edit”, which was Sterling Galban. He committed to Texas Tech. Then like a week later, I did my first FSU commitment — Houston Griffith.
CE: Did you follow recruiting before that started happening?
KC: Honestly, I didn’t follow recruiting strongly until I started doing graphic design. I kept up with the basics, watched (National Signing Day), but nothing in-depth like now.
CE: When did you realize that your graphics were starting to get a lot of attention?
KC: The first graphic I can remember “blowing up” was the Derwin James ESPN cover. I think it racked up like 300 (retweets) in a night and I just saw it everywhere. People thought it was real.
CE: How long does it take for a single recruiting graphic/edit?
KC: The time it takes depends on a lot of different things, but for the cartoons, about three or four hours.
CE: How many recruits contact you in a given cycle?
KC: Well in general, I’d say 50-plus a cycle, at least. Actually, more like 100-plus at least, just looked at my requests and I’ve had a like 100 (direct messages) since January. So it’s got to be at least 100-plus. Lately, I’ve just been focusing on doing FSU guys, and I try to do all of them. Also, something interesting I should mention — I’ve never charged a recruit a dime to do any artwork. I love doing it for them. It’s just not something I feel I want to charge them to do.
CE: What is, in your opinion, the best work you’ve ever done?
KC: It’s hard to say which is my favorite overall, but, one of my favorite ones I did recently would be Jayion McCluster’s top three.
CE: Fans have clamored for you to get a job in the FSU graphics department for a while. Recently, some of the official graphics the coaches sent out had your markings on them. How did they approach you? Is it a freelance-type deal, or are you in a contract position?
KC: I worked with the (Assistant Director of Player Personnel, John Herron) on some freelance work for them.
Campbell says that he hopes to do more work for FSU in the future. Right now he is in “wait and see” mode for when that might happen.
The impact of recruiting graphics is still a bit unknown. The obvious effect is the attention-grabbing nature of most recruiting pictures and videos.
If a school gives out a noticeable and unmistakable design, that can only help stick in the mind of someone weighing their options. If it’s something on the level that Campbell is doing — well, that’s an easy choice for a school to make.
CE: What are some of your future plans — both graphic design and your general career?
KC: For now, I just work the family business during the day and do my FSU stuff at night and some weekends. Obviously, my dream would be to work for FSU. But I’m content with where I’m at; we have a bright future at the business and really the only thing I’d ever walk away for is FSU. My plan for the future is to just keep doing my thing and let things fall into place.
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