Mainland offensive line coach: 'What is football without fun?'

Victor Campbell Jr. liked what he saw from the offensive line in the kickoff classic. The real test will come in the season opener against Miami Carol City on Friday, Aug. 21, at Daytona Stadium.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 1:00 p.m. August 20, 2026
  • Ormond Beach Observer
  • Sports
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Five offensive linemen — Chevin Davis Jr., Gavin Petty, Ke’Andre Johnson, Brandon Nelson and Jordan Harvey — earned a starting position against Kissimmee in the Aug. 14 preseason kickoff classic. 

Next up is the season opener at home on Friday, Aug. 21, against Miami Carol City.

“For it to be our first game, I liked what I saw, but I’m not satisfied,” Mainland offensive line coach Victor Campbell Jr. said. “We have a lot to build off. We did a good job identifying their defense and protecting the quarterback. Our freshman, Jordan Harvey, started at right tackle and held his weight, which is difficult to do at Mainland and versus a great program like Osceola. That kid has potential to be one of the best linemen Mainland has ever seen, if he continues to work hard.”

Mainland head football coach Jerrime Bell said prior to the preseason game, that there were still a few spots in the offensive line rotation being contested. 

“A guy may be really good in a position, but if he doesn’t fit for us, we can’t play him there,” he said after the game. “We’ve got to play him where he fits, who’s best for the program. They (offensive line) held up well. We gave up one sack on Friday night, and that was a miscommunication, but they played well. They opened. We had great protection all night long.”

Davis has been playing football for 10 years and has been on varsity all four years at Mainland. He has played tackle, center, and, for the past two years, guard for the Bucs. He is also a forward on the Buccaneers’ basketball team.

“My favorite thing about football is going out there blocking, just being a dog,” he said. “(For) basketball, it’s scoring.”

He gave a shout-out to the D-line during practice before the preseason game. The Bucs' defense “played lights out,” in the 27-9 win against Osceola, Bell said. They did allow a point, with the Kowboys scoring a safety against the offense and a touchdown against the JV. Braylyn Simmons, Jordan Jones, Keith Simmons and Jaden “Melo” Parks scored for the Bucs.

I try to preach, don’t settle, run with a motor, take care of business, and have fun. Because what is football without fun?
— VICTOR CAMPBELL JR., Mainland offensive line coach

Davis is the epitome of a Mainland football player, Campbell said. Campbell said he can take a player through a drill but cannot coach a kid on how to be determined, how to be willing and how to give 100% every play. Davis is always at 100% and is very versatile, Campbell said.

“If I could have a picture or show a person what a Mainland player looks like, it would be Chevin,” Campbell said. “He’s a program guy. He’s bought in. He knows what to do. He knows what not to do. He just knows the standard, and that’s the best a coach can ask for. There are a lot of things that he shows or exhibits that I cannot coach, which is heart and will and want.”

Petty transferred to Mainland from Flagler Palm Coast last December.  He has been playing football since he was 5 years old and has played varsity since the eighth grade. He said he and Davis are putting in the work, even after practice in the weight room.

“We’re just putting in that work every day and night,” Petty said. “I’m new, but I guarantee, I speak for everyone. We’re coming to compete.”

FROM BUCS LINEMAN TO COACH

Campbell said coaches and teachers are rewarded in dividends that may not be revealed immediately but over time.

“When it comes to teaching and coaching, obviously, you want to have high standards,” he said. “You want to win championships. You want to be successful. But the ultimate satisfaction I have is when I see a player I coached in a store with his family or his kids, and he tells me thank you for the principles I taught him four years ago that made him a better person.”

Campbell started playing football at age 6 while living in DeLand. His mother moved to Daytona Beach when he was in the third grade, and he did not play football again until his freshman year at Mainland. That was in 2003 when the Bucs won their first state championship against Naples. 

“I started off playing two years, and then I had a gap of six years,” he said. “It was really hard because I knew I loved football. I was a big guy. I had a lot of aggression in me, and I really had no outlet to take it out on.”

He wanted to play defensive line, but Campbell said the coach looked at his size and saw him as a player who could protect the quarterback, so Campbell began his Mainland football career on the offensive line his freshman year and continued until he graduated in 2007.

He went on to play football at Fullerton College in Orange County, California. After two seasons, he tore cartilage in his left knee. The doctor said if he wanted to play football, he could, but he would need a knee replacement in about 10 years.

“The doctor told me if I plan on having kids, I may want to just stop playing football so I can play with them,” Campbell said. “I actually made a decision that day. I saw myself having a family and kids one day, so I said, ‘I'll leave football.’ That was the last time I ever played.”

He earned a criminology degree from the University of South Florida in 2014. He became a substitute teacher at Mainland that year and continued teaching at various schools in the area. He is currently a physical education and ESE teacher at Mainland and has been coaching with the Bucs off and on since 2014 for a total of five years.

He said he has been teaching the philosophy of the offense to his current group of linemen, which is a combination of youth and experience. Running style, bread-and-butter plays and reinforcing the necessity of being aggressive and attacking are Campbell’s primary lessons. But most importantly, he said, he would rather his players make a mistake showing 100% effort than be correct at 50%.

Mainland will be tested against Carol City, Campbell said.

“I’m just excited for us,” he said. “I have to make sure, and they have to realize that they have to play as a unit. Four guys can’t afford to make a play, and one doesn’t. Defense can accidentally do something wrong and still make a play. If the offensive line blocks the wrong person, the whole play is scrapped. I try to preach, don’t settle, run with a motor, take care of business and have fun. Because what is football without fun?”

 

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