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A Campbell Q&A with David Helton
1/27/2021 8:39:00 PM | Football
This excerpt was taken from an article written by The National Football Foundation on January 27, 2021.
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David Helton's exceptional accomplishments rank him among the best student-athletes in Duke history. Maintaining a 3.64 GPA, Helton was a 2014 First Team Academic All-American and the 2014 Jim Tatum Award recipient as the top senior football student-athlete in the ACC. On the field, the Chattanooga, Tennessee, native was a First Team All-ACC selection in 2014, and he lead the conference in tackles during both his junior and senior seasons, finishing with 347 career tackles. Helton's commitment to excellence extended to the community, and his extensive volunteer work included the Durham Rescue Mission; participating in an annual trash clean-up; and raising more than $45,000 for his roommate's recovery after a tragic jet-skiing accident. After graduating from Duke in 2015, Helton entered the business world, and he currently oversees the finance and business operations for Agathos, a San Francisco-based company that is improving health outcomes by empowering doctors with actionable information.
What did winning the Campbell Trophy Presented by Mazda mean to you?Â
In my freshman year of college, I had several goals, but my primary one was to become an Academic All-American. At the time, I thought that was the ultimate culmination of hard work as a student-athlete, and it was very important to me to be great at being more than just a football player. I obviously didn't know about the Campbell Trophy at the time. Once I did, I shifted my goals a bit, but I felt that the Campbell Trophy would be a "best-case," "long-shot" scenario for me. Actually winning the award was completely surreal. As far as the significance of the award, what I reflected upon then and now is all of the work and time from others that it took to get me to that place. Sure, I was the one to stand on the podium and receive the award, but I felt at the time, and still do, that I was the product of great parents, coaches, teammates, mentors, and teachers. When I reflect on the award, I see it as the ultimate culmination of their work, along with my own.
Â
You were a First Team All-ACC performer who led the conference in tackles your last two seasons. What motivated your on-field performance?Â
 I truly loved the feeling of winning football games and being a contributing factor to that win. There really is no elation like it, so every game, my intention was play well enough for that reward.
Â
In 2013, you helped Duke to a school-record 10 wins, an ACC Coastal Division title and the school's first-ever ACC Championship Game appearance. How did it feel to put Duke Football on the map at a school that is traditionally known for its basketball program?
Looking back on my football experience, being a part of a team and program that reversed decades of losing and in turn, changed a culture, is what I am most proud of to this day. I don't believe there are any singular moments that define this reversal of fate, but the one that most clearly comes to my mind is, in my sophomore season, when we beat North Carolina to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 1994 (if I recall correctly...). However, what I believe is not highlighted in this achievement, along with the others that followed, is the process it took to get there. It was incredibly hard and thankless. It took a large amount of work from numerous players and personnel, even ones that never actually got the pleasure of enjoying those winning moments themselves. I maybe didn't think about that fact in the moment(s), but when I reflect, those people and that painstaking process are what sticks with me to this day.
What was special about playing for Coach David Cutcliffe? Did he have any catch phrases that you got a kick out of?
 "Leave a place better than you found it" – If you ask any player who has ever played for Coach Cut, they'll more than likely recite this line when asked this question. I think I heard it so many times that I became numb to its significance, which I didn't truly appreciate until I was done with football. Now it sticks with me in every job or task I do, as it has become a permanent part of my worldview. Coach Cut is a special coach and mentor because (1) he truly cares about the players as human beings, and (2) he doesn't just say statements like the one above - he truly means every word and lives his life accordingly. A lot of people talk a big game, but don't follow it up with their daily actions. He is one of the rare individuals who does.
This is excerpted is from The National Football Foundation and to read the full article click HERE.
Â
---
David Helton's exceptional accomplishments rank him among the best student-athletes in Duke history. Maintaining a 3.64 GPA, Helton was a 2014 First Team Academic All-American and the 2014 Jim Tatum Award recipient as the top senior football student-athlete in the ACC. On the field, the Chattanooga, Tennessee, native was a First Team All-ACC selection in 2014, and he lead the conference in tackles during both his junior and senior seasons, finishing with 347 career tackles. Helton's commitment to excellence extended to the community, and his extensive volunteer work included the Durham Rescue Mission; participating in an annual trash clean-up; and raising more than $45,000 for his roommate's recovery after a tragic jet-skiing accident. After graduating from Duke in 2015, Helton entered the business world, and he currently oversees the finance and business operations for Agathos, a San Francisco-based company that is improving health outcomes by empowering doctors with actionable information.
What did winning the Campbell Trophy Presented by Mazda mean to you?Â
In my freshman year of college, I had several goals, but my primary one was to become an Academic All-American. At the time, I thought that was the ultimate culmination of hard work as a student-athlete, and it was very important to me to be great at being more than just a football player. I obviously didn't know about the Campbell Trophy at the time. Once I did, I shifted my goals a bit, but I felt that the Campbell Trophy would be a "best-case," "long-shot" scenario for me. Actually winning the award was completely surreal. As far as the significance of the award, what I reflected upon then and now is all of the work and time from others that it took to get me to that place. Sure, I was the one to stand on the podium and receive the award, but I felt at the time, and still do, that I was the product of great parents, coaches, teammates, mentors, and teachers. When I reflect on the award, I see it as the ultimate culmination of their work, along with my own.
Â
You were a First Team All-ACC performer who led the conference in tackles your last two seasons. What motivated your on-field performance?Â
 I truly loved the feeling of winning football games and being a contributing factor to that win. There really is no elation like it, so every game, my intention was play well enough for that reward.
Â
In 2013, you helped Duke to a school-record 10 wins, an ACC Coastal Division title and the school's first-ever ACC Championship Game appearance. How did it feel to put Duke Football on the map at a school that is traditionally known for its basketball program?
Looking back on my football experience, being a part of a team and program that reversed decades of losing and in turn, changed a culture, is what I am most proud of to this day. I don't believe there are any singular moments that define this reversal of fate, but the one that most clearly comes to my mind is, in my sophomore season, when we beat North Carolina to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 1994 (if I recall correctly...). However, what I believe is not highlighted in this achievement, along with the others that followed, is the process it took to get there. It was incredibly hard and thankless. It took a large amount of work from numerous players and personnel, even ones that never actually got the pleasure of enjoying those winning moments themselves. I maybe didn't think about that fact in the moment(s), but when I reflect, those people and that painstaking process are what sticks with me to this day.
What was special about playing for Coach David Cutcliffe? Did he have any catch phrases that you got a kick out of?
 "Leave a place better than you found it" – If you ask any player who has ever played for Coach Cut, they'll more than likely recite this line when asked this question. I think I heard it so many times that I became numb to its significance, which I didn't truly appreciate until I was done with football. Now it sticks with me in every job or task I do, as it has become a permanent part of my worldview. Coach Cut is a special coach and mentor because (1) he truly cares about the players as human beings, and (2) he doesn't just say statements like the one above - he truly means every word and lives his life accordingly. A lot of people talk a big game, but don't follow it up with their daily actions. He is one of the rare individuals who does.
This is excerpted is from The National Football Foundation and to read the full article click HERE.
Â
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