Clemson has spent recent seasons with a cornerback opponents learned to avoid, and Dabo Swinney thinks Ashton Hampton is the next one to fit that role.
That belief was front and center on Monday, when Swinney spoke with former Tigers corner Avieon Terrell on FaceTime and made sure to tell him what he sees in the player taking over that spot.
“‘Man, you’d be so proud of Ashton,’” he recalled telling Terrell during their call.
Through four games, Hampton has given Clemson exactly the kind of impact Swinney was talking about. He has seven pass breakups, eight pass deflections and an interception, which came against LSU on the Tigers’ first defensive drive of the season. In Clemson’s latest win over Cal, he held the Bears to just two catches for 10 yards.
For Swinney, though, the talent was never the question. The bigger issue was whether Hampton would mature enough to match it after arriving on campus in 2024.
“Ashton was kind of immature when he came in here,” Swinney said on Tuesday. “Not in a bad way, just immature in a silly way. He was just kind of silly, just needed to grow up a little bit, and I was tough on Ashton early, like really tough on him. . .but he needed it.”
Clemson has seen plenty of highly rated defensive backs come through with the physical tools to stack up with corners like Avieon and A.J. Terrell, both of whom were drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. But Swinney has also watched gifted prospects fall short because they never developed the right mindset.
“I want these guys to be the best versions of themselves and I knew this kid could be exactly what he is, but he had to grow up,” he said. “But, you also have to accept that challenge, and he did.”
The version of Hampton Clemson has now is still the same loud, energetic player who arrived from Tallahassee, Florida. He has brought that edge to practice and games, especially when he’s jawing with receivers.
At the same time, Swinney says there’s a sharper sense of urgency and detail in everything Hampton does now.
“That’s the urgency that he brings into the meeting room every day,” Swinney said. “That’s the detail he practices with every day.
Every day he’s calling out wideouts. Every day he’s yelling at me, ‘Coach Swinney, where are your guys at?
Where you at?’”
That confidence has earned Hampton another major responsibility. Against No. 4 Miami, he’ll serve as a captain for the second time in five games, which stands out because Clemson usually spreads that honor around among its veterans.
Now he’ll be charged with helping slow down a Miami offense Swinney views as the most dangerous in the country, with Hampton matched up against receivers such as Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate.
Swinney didn’t hold back on what he thinks Hampton can become.
“His confidence, his knowledge of the game, he studies the game, he’s a coach’s kid; I can’t say enough about him in every aspect,” he said. “You talk about an all-in guy, loves Clemson, loves our program, loves the former players, he’s passionate about it, he wants to win.”
“You put that type of mentality, that mindset, that work ethic with that type of talent, you get a superstar. . .and that’s who he is.”
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