Hampton Continues to Thrive as The Husky, Creating All Sorts of Possibilities
Considering how well Dominique Hampton has taken to his new assignment, maybe the University of Washington coaching staff should refer to all of its football players as The Husky.
The former cornerback and safety, bouncing in and out of the UW starting lineup last season and seemingly destined for a journeyman role to finish out his time in Montlake, now exudes star quality and NFL potential.
"He's bigger than some of the linebackers and one of the faster guys on the football field," co-defensive coordinator William Inge said. "He's one of your prototypical players that will have a chance to play at the next level just because of his body type, his work ethic and his skills."
Since spring football, the 6-foot-3, 221-pound Hampton has been a natural for the new hybrid position introduced by Kalen DeBoer's staff that requires him to be a safety at times and otherwise a linebacker.
He played confidently in the season opener against Kent State, coming up for 3 tackles while deflecting a Golden Flashes pass in the 45-20 victory. It was a solid start for him at his new position.
Hampton finally seems unleashed as a Husky football player whereas before he couldn't seem to satisfy the previous staff for long.
"The one thing we have to continue to do with him is focus in on the small, little minute details on each play, on each given moment to allow him to be able to go from having a tipped pass and turning it into an interception and or having a tackle and turning that into a tipped pass," Inge said.
Hampton is off to a good beginning in his new position, with job security that he didn't have before, and he'll really be able to show what he's become as a football player — as The Husky — when the competition turns a lot tougher before the month is out.
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