Aaron Hampton has spent his college career doing the thing that’s hardest to do in modern football: staying put.
When the transfer portal churned after Justin Wilcox was fired last year, Cal lost 32 players. The Bears had gone 7-6, and before that they hadn’t finished above .500 in six years.
Plenty of players had every reason to move on. Hampton didn’t.
The walk-on inside linebacker remained in Berkeley, carrying the same stubborn edge that helped him get here in the first place. He has kept working through position changes, coaching turnover and the limited reps that came his way early on. For Hampton, loyalty to Cal has outweighed everything else.
“Cal gave him a chance. Now a junior and finishing his degree early come December, Hampton takes pride in the fact that he stayed even though others left, persisting through it all. Spending a whole collegiate career in one jersey is something that he’s able to revel in.”
That mindset was shaped far from California, in Anchorage, Alaska, where Hampton grew up with the sense that people overlooked him before he ever stepped on a field. He said that perception has followed athletes from his state for years.
“I mean, being from Alaska, people don’t think much of you, especially from an athletic standpoint,” Hampton said. “You know, that’s what we’ve been told our whole lives. So I think everyone’s work ethic from Alaska is just 10 times better than everyone else’s.”
The numbers back up how thin the pipeline is. Only 15 players from Alaska were on collegiate rosters this year.
Just five recruits from Hampton’s class were ranked on 24/7 Sports. And only Hampton and former high school teammate and Washington State offensive lineman Sone Falealo are on FBS rosters this season.
There’s another obstacle baked into the state itself: Alaska has no college football programs, so anyone who wants to keep playing has to leave home.
Hampton’s path started early anyway. His older brother, Andrew, was the one who pulled him toward football, and Hampton was eager from the start.
“Being the younger brother and just seeing him play football for all those years, I couldn’t wait. So I mean, I was putting on his pads before (his) games.
Like at four, I’d show up in his pads,” Hampton said. “I was ecstatic when I was finally able to play.”
At West Anchorage High School, he showed enough versatility to play both linebacker and wide receiver. He helped lead his team to a state title and was named Alaska’s Gatorade Athlete of the Year for the 2023-24 season.
Even with that résumé, his recruiting never exploded. Oregon State was one of the only FBS schools to come after him, while smaller FCS programs and Ivy League schools also offered chances. Once athletic scholarships entered the picture, he chose the Beavers.
Then Jonathan Smith left Oregon State in November 2023 to take over at Michigan State, and Hampton reopened his recruitment. He said the coaching change made him uncertain about sticking with his original commitment.
“Oregon State for me was kind of a special place because of just how similar it looked to Alaska,” Hampton said. “I had been talking to them since the first day they could reach out, so I was pretty close to the coaching staff. And when they left, I was not sure if I wanted to stay committed anymore.”
Cal entered the picture late, and though the Bears could not offer the scholarship he wanted right away, they could offer a path to one later. Hampton took it.
His first season with Cal brought eight appearances and two tackles. His sophomore year came with more strain, including the Bears’ blowout loss to Stanford in the 128th Big Game, a defeat that ended with Wilcox’s firing.
Still, Hampton stayed. The uncertainty that pushed him away from Oregon State didn’t change his mind at Cal.
That decision has turned him into more than a walk-on trying to hang on. He has become a reliable piece for the Bears, earned a scholarship and seen more time on the field. For a player who grew up being underestimated, it’s been a steady climb - one he’ll finish as a Golden Bear.
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