USF Athletics

Game 2 Player Spotlight: Mike Hampton

September 19, 2020

GAME 2 MATCHUP: USF (1-0) at No. 7/7 Notre Dame (1-0)
DAY & TIME: Saturday, 2:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Ind.
TV: USA Network
RADIO: Over the Air: 1250 AM WHNZ & Digital: Bulls Unlimited
SERIES: Bulls lead series, 1-0, after 23-20 win in South Bend in 2011
GAME NOTES: USF (PDF) | Notre Dame (PDF)
 

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

SOUTH BEND, Ind., SEPT. 19, 2020 – Nine years ago, Kayvon Webster really jumped onto the radar of NFL organizations when he scooped up a fumble near the USF goal line and jetted to the end zone for a 96-yard touchdown at the historic house of 16^th-ranked Notre Dame.

"I think what that game did for me was it put a little bull's-eye on my back," said Webster, who also broke up a potential TD pass in the Bulls' epic 23-30 upset win in South Bend that was televised on NBC. "It just put me on the map that he's a corner."

This Saturday, potential future draft picks will take the same grand stage and showcase their skills to the nation when the Bulls face the No. 7 Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. One Bull really looking to make a name for himself is Mike Hampton, a graduate cornerback and a friend of NFL veteran Webster.

"It's a big game and it's one a lot of scouts are gonna be looking at," Hampton said. "It's a game for us to show we can play with the big dogs."

Pulling off another monumental upset – even bigger than 2011 – will require many Bulls to step up in South Bend, where USF will have to "play very, very, very well" to win, according to head coach Jeff Scott. Notre Dame senior quarterback Ian Book is a Heisman Trophy contender throwing to a group of talented veteran receivers, which will pose a major challenge to the Bulls' secondary.

Hampton is eager to do his part and looks at Saturday's game as a chance to "solidify" himself as one of college football's elite corners. Facing an Irish offense loaded with dynamic playmakers, Hampton and fellow Tampa native KJ Sails will be heavily relied upon in coordinator Glenn Spencer's multiple scheme that tasks the starting cornerbacks with lots of single coverage.

"What we're allowed to do on defense has a lot to do with how those corners can play," Spencer said. "So far, they've given me no reason we just can't continue on with what we like to do, and that's to single those guys up a lot."

For a Bull who has @mike_7island as his Twitter handle, the pressures of performing well in Spencer's defense are very much welcome. Sails certainly feels the same.

"It's big for a coordinator to depend on his guy like that and have trust in his guy like that," Hampton said. "It's big for us because it shows he has confidence in us and it builds up our confidence to go out there and show out and put on a show for him."

Confidence in his capabilities has grown steadily over Hampton's career as a Bull.

Playing in all 38 of USF's outings since 2017, the 25-game starter had a breakout 2018 season that earned him All-AAC honorable mention and Phil Steele All-AAC Third Team accolades. Hampton made the most of his first chance to serve as a consistent starter by ranking ninth nationally with 18 passes defended, one shy of USF's top season mark.

Last season, Hampton tied for the team lead with six pass breakups and headed into 2020 tied for the third-most career forced incompletions among returning college players with 31. He didn't get much of a chance to add to that total last Saturday against The Citadel's ground based triple option, but Hampton did recover a fumble in the Bulls' 27-6 victory to start the Scott era.

"I just love where I'm at right now, where the program is at right now and where we're heading," Hampton said.

Considering the USF team is receiving votes in both polls this week, perhaps they could be headed towards a top-25 ranking for the fourth time in the last five seasons. In order to accomplish that, the Bulls will need to make a statement by posting the highest ranked road victory in program history Saturday in South Bend.

"It's a big opportunity, a big challenge," Hampton said.

More About Mike

• SUCCEEDING IN SPORTS, ACADEMICS: Hampton received his Bachelor of Arts in communication in May and he's currently working on another bachelor's degree in criminology. The USF Athletics Honor Roll member has aspirations of becoming a sports broadcaster, hopefully after a productive NFL playing career. Coordinator Glenn Spencer said his 23-year-old cornerback has the right mentality. "I've just been real (impressed with) Mike's professionalism to the job. He wants to master his craft," Spencer said. "That's a pretty high compliment because there's a lot of young men his age who get distracted by a lot of garbage, and that's not Mike. I expect him to have a really good game up there this weekend."
• HARD-WORKING FAMILY: As a kid, Hampton learned what it takes to succeed from his parents, Katrina, a nurse, and Mike Sr., who eventually earned a big promotion to his current Senior Director of Operations role for J.J. Taylor Distributing Company of Florida's Tampa office. "They'd wake up early, put in overtime and came home late," Hampton said. "They'd wake up early again and just do it over and over again. They just instilled in me hard work and work for what you want."
• BASEBALL FOCUS BEFORE FOOTBALL: Hampton remembers he was 4 when his father first introduced him to football at Copeland Park, a short drive from USF's Tampa campus. Before fully committing to the sport, Hampton said he was mainly a baseball player until the eighth grade, when he switched his focus to football. He also ran track in his final two years at Hillsborough High School in order to develop his speed for the gridiron, specializing in the 100, 200 and 4x100 events. Hampton played all positions on the baseball field growing up. He really shined in center field and said his all-time favorite player is Derek Jeter, who won five World Series titles as the New York Yankees' star shortstop.  
• FROM RB TO DB: Hampton's first-ever football position was on the offensive side of the ball as a running back. Hampton liked scoring touchdowns but eventually loved another aspect of the game – hitting - after an observant coach moved him over to defensive back during his freshman year at Hillsborough High School. "It was natural," said Hampton, who was inspired greatly by Arizona Cardinals corner Patrick Peterson, a three-time First Team All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowl selection.

 
About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23^rd season (20^th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
                                                                                
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