By Jonathan Stout
Athletics Media Services Assistant

Former high school quarterback, now turned wide receiver, Ben Bolling has made his presence known since arriving on campus in 2011, reaching new heights on the football field for the Camels and in the classroom.

The redshirt junior from Knightdale, N.C. is coming off his second consecutive season being named to the Pioneer Football League honor roll; he was also named to the 2013 First Team Academic All-PFL squad and received CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 honors.

"Ben is a leader on and off the football field," head coach Mike Minter said. "I think him playing quarterback in high school has given him those qualities of being a leader on the football field. He's a guy that comes to work every day and tries to get better.

"The latter part of last year he started to break through and understand. You can definitely tell that he's improved, and he's going to be a big time player for us."

Bolling posted career highs and program records last season for the Camels; he set the single season receiving yards record with 495 yards and hauled in five touchdowns for Campbell tying the single season mark.

"I know what the coaches expect from me, and I know what I need to do," Bolling said. "I really just comes down to making the play when your name is called and when you need to. In this offense, if you just take advantage of every opportunity that you have then you're bound to have a successful career here."

Bolling honed his talents from high school, tossing a 30-yard touchdown pass against Jacksonville, and rushed for another touchdown, to give him seven total for the 2013 season.

His 705 yards ranks third all time in program history, seventh in receptions with 50 and fourth with five touchdowns heading into the 2014 season.

Minter said he wasn't aware than Bolling played quarterback in high school until mid-way though his first season as head coach of the Camels.

"You saw a kid that didn't quite understand how to play the position, and at the end of the year he was our go-to guy and he was making a lot of big plays," Minter said. "He really started turning some heads because of his big plays."

Bolling was a four-year letter winner at Knightdale high school and holds the school record in passing yards (3,557) touchdowns (40) and total yards (5,191). He also set the single season record with 1,652 passing yards and 18 touchdowns.

"It helps me to understand what they're going through, because I've been back there before and I understand that not everything is perfect," Bolling said. "I can understand coverage and read defenses better than most other receivers because I've had that feel playing the game."

Bolling said he wanted to play college football where there was noticeable growth in the program, somewhere he thought there was an opportunity for him to make a difference.

"A lot of other schools I visited seemed like they were stagnant, and this program was fresh," he said. "There was a lot of new energy an a lot of new enthusiasm.

"It's something I wanted to be a part of and it didn't want to go to another school where I'd just be another number. I wanted to mean something."

Through three games, Bolling has recorded seven catches for 73 yards and one touchdown, ranking first in both categories on the team.

"You look at a kid who was injured, didn't understand the position, but now you're looking at a kid that's polishing different things," Minter said. "Now he's going to the next level, now it's not about running routes.

"Now it's about how I'm going to beat this defensive back, how I'm going to set him up. That's where he's at now, understanding where the defense and where everyone needs to line up."