Paul Edward Campbell (March 11, 1926 – February 10, 2005) was a college athlete who was the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns football team in 1948 and 1949.
[2] He was originally playing in the school band, but after showing talent in a physical education class, his coach Eck Curtis asked him to switch to football.
[4] Campbell first enrolled at Texas A&M in February 1944,[4] where he played tennis and basketball, but left after one semester to serve in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
That summer, stationed at South Plains Army Air Field he was selected to play for the Service All-Stars football team.
Though the All-Stars lost, Campbell played quarterback for the first time, and his two touchdown passes drew the attention of NFL scouts.
The team went 10–1, missing out on a perfect record due to a one-point loss to #8 SMU, and won the 1948 Sugar Bowl.
[5] Texas, under second year coach Blair Cherry, was projected to win the Southwest Conference in 1949 and started the season ranked #16.
It took Campbell several games to develop as a consistent passer and the team suffered early losses to #2 North Carolina, Oklahoma and then to eventual conference champion SMU.
Though Texas posted a disappointing 6-4 record, finishing unranked and without a bowl game invitation, Campbell had a stellar season.