Alonzo Hampton expected to become South Florida secondary coach

Tift County (Ga.) assistant Alonzo Hampton is expected to join South Florida coach Willie Taggart’s staff as the secondary coach, according to a source.

An agreement has yet to be finalized, per the source, but the move would be a reunion for Hampton and Taggart. Hampton coached the secondary during Taggart’s final two seasons as head coach at Western Kentucky before Taggart left for his current job in December 2012.

During those two years, Taggart had 7-5 records both seasons, a drastic improvement from an inaugural 2-10 rebuilding campaign. With Hampton’s secondary, Western Kentucky was 34th in the FBS in pass defense (209.77 yards per game) during Taggart’s final season. That was instrumental in the Hilltoppers finishing 26th nationally in total defense (348.15 yards per game) that season.

After not being retained following Taggart’s departure, Hampton has been an assistant the last two seasons at Tift County.

Prior to his stint at Western Kentucky, the 41-year-old Hampton spent five seasons as an assistant at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, where he was the defensive coordinator his final year. He played defensive back at Louisiana Monroe and later went on to have stints in the NFL and NFL Europe.

South Florida went 4-8 this season, doubling their win total from Taggart’s first season. The Bulls return 14 starters from this past season, including their top four tacklers and rising sophomore running back Marlon Mack, the American Athletic Conference’s Rookie of the Year.