"Now I see that Northwestern should have been my No. 1 choice all along."

Campbell, a 6-foot, 195-pound senior and first-magnitude football star at Chestnut Hill Academy, made that statement yesterday after saying he'd made an oral commitment to Northwestern.

His other official visit was made to Boston College and he canceled one this past weekend to Stanford after experiencing negative vibrations.

"Now that I look back, Northwestern handled things the best," Campbell said. "When they offered me a scholarship, they did so because they meant it. I got 10 offers in all, but some schools did that just off watching film without even talking to me.

"My first contact with Northwestern was last spring, just as outdoor track was beginning. Their recruiting coordinator for this area came to watch me in a track meet. From that time on, they were very thorough. The way they recruited me never changed. They always showed they wanted me."

Campbell this season rushed for 1,885 yards and 28 touchdowns as the Blue Devils, in their 27th season of Inter-Ac League membership, spread over four stints since 1923, finally won a championship (shared with Malvern Prep and Haverford School).

He finished his varsity career with 3,810 rushing yards and 52 TDs, and he scored 332 points overall. He also starred on defense and intends to play cornerback in college.

"I had a good feel on my visit to Northwestern," Campbell said. "The football players were all good guys and they spoke highly of coach [Pat] Fitzgerald as a man and a coach. Everyone showed the kind of qualities I value. The kind I want to be around for the next 4 years."

Campbell, who lives in Cheltenham, has a long-range goal of attending medical school. His brother, Rashad, is a sophomore at Cornell, starting at d-back.