Brown taking on role as mentor for cornerback
There’s no consensus on when South Carolina cornerback Victor Hampton matured.
Spur DeVonte Holloman thinks it was when he stopped being so hard on himself. Linebacker Shaq Wilson said Hampton changed when he started attending a Bible study with some teammates. Free safety D.J. Swearinger saw a difference in the way Hampton started to practice.
Though everyone agrees Hampton changed from his trouble-prone past, first-year USC secondary coach Grady Brown has only seen one side of Hampton. The relationship between the two has been the driving force behind Hampton’s maturity.
“I feel like I can come to him about stuff that’s not related to football,” Hampton said. “Whenever you have a coach that you feel like you can talk to, that means he has trust in you and you have trust in him. It doesn’t do anything but make the relationship better.”
Before arriving on South Carolina’s campus, Hampton was arrested on a charge of underage drinking at his high school, just two days after signing his letter of intent, according to multiple reports.
After he redshirted his freshman season, USC coach Steve Spurrier dismissed Hampton from the team for a violation of team rules. A week later, Hampton was reinstated, but was suspended for the first three games. His academic inconsistency had kept him from practicing much that spring.
Now in his first season as a regular starter, Hampton jokingly mocks Spurrier and exchanges playful jabs with him. Two hours before the game against Arkansas, Hampton danced along the field with his headphones on. As a kick returner, he dances to “Sandstorm” before every kickoff.
“You just never know what you’re going to get from Vic,” Holloman said. “One day you can get ‘Vic: the clown,’ and another day you can get ‘Vic: the most focused dude out here.’ You just never know what you’re going to get from him.”
Brown didn’t know what he was going to get from Hampton on the first day of spring practice, either. Hired away from Southern Mississippi to coach the Gamecocks’ secondary, Brown wasn’t around for Hampton’s off-the-field issues, but had heard about them.
“I recognized from Day 1 when I got here that he was a good person,” Brown said. “He just needed somebody to come in and mentor him and have a little patience and get on his butt when he’s wrong and pat him on the back when he does a good job. That’s just what I try to do.”
It’s not unusual for Brown to text Hampton at 10:30 p.m. when something is on his mind. Brown said he’d have to look through his phone to know the specific things he’ll text on a daily basis, many having nothing to do with football.
Hampton doesn’t need to look through his phone. The things he and Brown talk about are topics he ponders long after the conversation’s over. Brown’s consistency in building a relationship with Hampton is why he said Brown is one of the best coaches he’s had in his football career.
“He’ll just ask me what I really want to do,” Hampton said. “Do I really want to take care of my family and make this a career? Because I do have the talent to make it to the next level. He just tries to keep me level-headed and make sure I’m doing everything right off the field.”
Before now-defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward was promoted, he worked closely with Hampton last season as the cornerbacks’ coach. He said he is aggressive with Hampton, so Brown works with Hampton most now. Ward said the two relate to each other well.
“He has a better temperament with Vic than I do,” Ward said. “It’s just my mentality — when you make mistakes, it bothers me. Not that it didn’t bother coach Brown, but he’s going to handle that situation a little differently than I would.”
Wide receiver Bruce Ellington said Hampton’s never talked to him about his relationship with Brown, but Ellington took notice when Hampton started paying more attention to his academics and getting to class on time.
Swearinger wasn’t impressed with Hampton’s past work ethic in practice, but he’s seen that progressively change. Hampton went from walking everywhere during practice to running.
When Hampton started attending a Bible study with tailback Marcus Lattimore, quarterback Dylan Thompson and offensive lineman A.J. Cann, Wilson said he saw Hampton’s entire outlook change because “God got into his life.”
Holloman saw a teammate who was “so hard on himself” lighten up.
“I feel like he’s one of those people that expects a lot from himself, and in turn, that drove him to lash out at things,” Holloman said. “Now, he’s not so hard on himself and allows himself to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. That’s what’s contributed to his success this year.”
Hampton’s success on the field has come at crucial moments. Against Kentucky, he made a touchdown-saving tackle just short of the goal line as the first half expired.
He returned a blocked extra-point attempt 94 yards for two points at Florida. With the Gamecocks clinging to a three-point lead against Tennessee, he intercepted quarterback Tyler Bray’s pass on the final Volunteers’ drive of the game.
So far this season, Hampton has 32 tackles, one interception and six pass breakups.
“The small things do matter,” Hampton said. “Going to class on time and doing everything off the field helps you out on the field.”
The small things Brown does have had the greatest impact on Hampton, like late-night texts just to see how Hampton’s doing or remind him of his potential. The small things have led to big strides.
“He does his best to do what I’m asking him to do,” Brown said. “As long as he keeps doing that, I think he’ll finish his academic and his playing career the way we all think he could.”