Airport visit sets the stage for Tigers to beat out Crimson Tide |
Nick Saban’s mistake is
Dabo Swinney’s gain.
The final seven members of the 2024 recruiting class will arrive on campus this summer. The First Summer session begins May 14th and runs through June 21st. A few players have already shown up, and the rest are expected when the Second Summer session begins on June 27th. Who are the final seven pieces of the puzzle? They are, Drew Woodaz, CJ Kubah-Taylor, TJ Moore, Hevin Brown-Shuler, Darien Mayo, Ashton Hampton, and Christian Bentancur. Today, we look at the final piece of that group in Hampton, a 3-star cornerback out of Tallahassee (FL) Florida State University School. Hampton comes from a football family - his father, Alonzo, is the head coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and was an NFL Europe teammate of Clemson cornerbacks coach Mike Reed with the Frankfurt Galaxy. Hampton’s love of Clemson dates back to 2017 when Clemson flew into Tampa for the national championship game against Alabama. Hampton was nine years old on the tarmac at the airport with his Pop Warner team when the Tigers and Tide arrived. Swinney and Clemson—known for their community service—took pictures with all of the football players at the arrival ceremony, while Alabama head coach Nick Saban didn’t allow his team to participate in the photo ops. That day, Hampton’s mother said her son would never play for Saban, and the rest is history. Hampton had an offer from Alabama but took just four visits, all last June. Clemson received the first visit on June 2, and he then saw Florida (June 9), Louisville (June 16), and Arkansas (June 23). It wasn’t long after that he made his commitment to the Tigers. On3 ranked Hampton at No. 22 in its “athlete” designation and an All-Southeast Region selection by PrepStar. He helped Florida State University High School to a 10-3 record in 2023 and earned All-Big Bend honors from the Tallahassee Democrat on both sides of the ball, earning a first-team selection at wide receiver in addition to a first-team selection and All-Big Bend Defensive Player of the Year honors as a defensive back. Hampton is an outstanding defensive back and receiver who finished his high school career with 115 receptions for 1,797 yards and 21 touchdowns. He posted at least one reception in 39 of his 43 career games, including 28 straight over his last two seasons. He averaged 15.6 yards per catch for his career but also recorded 92 career tackles, ten tackles for loss, and six interceptions over his 43 games. In 2023, he accrued 53 receptions for 873 yards and ten touchdowns in 13 games on offense while adding 64 tackles, three tackles for loss, three interceptions and nine passes defensed on defense. He recorded three 100-yard receiving games in 2023, including one game with six catches for 163 yards when he was selected as a team captain. As a junior in 2022, he notched 35 catches for 696 yards, a career-best 19.9 yards per catch, with nine touchdowns on offense while adding 48 tackles, five tackles for loss, nine passes defensed and one interception that season. He had a career-high 71 tackles as a sophomore in 2021, along with 27 catches for 228 yards and two scores on offense.
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