Back in fall camp, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was clearly impressed by freshman cornerback Ashton Hampton, who joined the program this past offseason as a summer enrollee.
Swinney said in August that Hampton “doesn’t look like a freshman” and called the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder “a great-looking kid” who’s “big and long and physically developed.” After fall camp wrapped up, Swinney also mentioned Hampton as one of the freshmen Swinney was most excited to see when this season began.
Fast forward to last Saturday, and Hampton was on the field for a career-high 35 snaps in Clemson’s 29-13 victory at Florida State. The Tallahassee native tallied three tackles and a pass breakup against the Seminoles.
On Sunday evening, after watching the film from Saturday’s game, Swinney once again spoke highly of Hampton when discussing what he saw from him against FSU.
Clemson cornerback Ashton Hampton (23) brings down Florida State tight end Landen Thomas (18) during the third quarter at FSU’s Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla. Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider
“Ashton, we’re really proud of him,” Swinney said. “He’s a guy we’ve got confidence in. That’s why we’re playing him in critical situations. He’s still a young guy, and we’re just trying to bring him along at a good, healthy pace.
“But I’m proud of him. He had some good poise to him (Saturday) night, and I thought he came in and did some good things. Made a big tackle, played the technique the way that we wanted to play it in the situation that we were in within the game.”
Hampton, who committed to Clemson in July 2023 and signed last December, was rated as a four-star prospect in the 2024 class by Rivals. He has played in all five games so far this season and logged 102 total snaps to date.
After making his college debut in the season opener vs. Georgia, Hampton recorded four tackles vs. App State before providing one of the highlights of Clemson’s game vs. NC State on Sept. 21 — a 53-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter that put an exclamation point on the Tigers’ 59-35 win.
Swinney is certainly high on Hampton and his potential and sees a bright future ahead for him.
“He’s going to be a really, really good player,” Swinney said. “Really excited about his progress and what we think he can become.”
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