When Aveion Terrell forced his first fumble of the 2025 season against LSU, fellow cornerback Ashton Hampton followed him off the field in celebration– arms outstretched, fists pumping, as Clemson opened its year with a stop against a then-Top-10 opponent.

In the months following, throughout the Tigers’ up-and-down season, Terrell and Hampton consistently antagonized offenses, generating 18 pass breakups, 7.5 tackles for loss, and nearly 100 combined tackles. 

With Terrell now departed from Clemson after being selected with the No. 48 pick in the NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons, however, Hampton will not be following, literally or figuratively, in any more footsteps this upcoming season.

“For me, it’s a great feeling because Aveion Terrell pretty much came in and set a standard last year,” Hampton said after a spring practice in March. “I’m just pretty much trying to build on what he just passed me the torch and I’m just taking it over from there and I pass it down to the young guys. I’m making sure I’m being the leader in the room.”

In Hampton’s first season as a Tiger in 2024, the Tallahassee, Fla., native racked up two interceptions, six pass breakups, and 30 tackles en route to a Freshman All-American honor. In his sophomore season, he, along with Terrell, were bright spots in a secondary that head coach Dabo Swinney called, “the worst pass defense I’ve had ever.”

Now, Hampton hopes to add ‘versatile,’ and ‘leader’ to his growing list of accomplishments, and eradicate Swinney’s critique of the pass defense in the meantime.

“I just want to be a dominant force on the defense,” he said. “Just dominate all across the field. Learn every position in the secondary, nickel, safety, rover star, everything. And just make sure I’m truly being a true leader to the entire secondary.”

Luckily for the rising junior, Avieon Terrell– the most recent star corner and defensive leader for the Tigers, is still just one call, or a short drive away for advice.

“I talk to AV (Terrell) pretty much every day,” Hampton said. “Every day, I’m always calling him, talking to him about the spring. I’m talking to him about the draft combine, stuff like that. He’s calling me asking me how practice went and it’s pretty much a great relationship. And since he left, he’s pretty much helped with anything I need.” 

According to Swinney, that mentorship, as well as Hampton’s personal growth in practice, has paid off. After the Annual Orange & White Spring Game in March, the Tigers’ veteran skipper explained the intensity his returning corner brought to practice each day this spring, and how he promptly educated freshman wide receivers.

From Clemson’s head man’s perspective, Hampton served as a breathing, walking, humility check in every spring practice at the Allen Reeves Football Facility this March.

“Ashton Hampton just beat (the freshmen) up, you know, just feel sorry for them,” Swinney said with a laugh. “Just bless their heart… I think Ashton put (Naeem) Burroughs up in like row 10 out here in a scrimmage early on.”

Hampton’s leadership role has a chance to be different than Terrell’s ever was, however, as Clemson took a program-high nine defensive players in the transfer portal this season. Four of these new Tigers are also members of the secondary.

Though the newcomers have provided inherent competition in Hampton’s position group, the returning corner says that the bond between his new teammates is not limited to ferocity on the field.

“The team bond, it’s special, man,” Hampton said. “We just pretty much just spend time together off the field. We might go to somebody’s house, play the game, stuff like that. We just spend time together. I know we watched the Super Bowl at each other’s houses and that was fun. And they talk about the game like our dreams, our aspirations, stuff like that and just connect with each other on a deeper level than just football.”

Hampton’s leadership and the Tigers’ new-look defense will need to be an improved version of itself in a few months, when Clemson heads to Baton Rouge, La., to open its season against LSU at Tiger Stadium on Sep 5.

While Hampton may not have Terrell to follow into the endzone or sideline in the unfamiliar venue, he brings a new trail of Tigers ready to take on a new era for Clemson’s secondary.