Hampton gets fresh start at Darlington

DARLINGTON—Victor Hampton doesn’t just feel at home in his new surroundings in Darlington.

He feels reborn.

The Florence native returned to the Pee Dee this summer with two goals in mind — don’t fall prey to the mistakes of his past, and get back to doing what he loves the most: football.

Hampton is one of most highly recruited defensive backs in the country, garnering offers from South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Clemson among others during the last two years.

Hs impact with the Darlington High School team was immediate. He returned a punt 52 yards for a score on his first touch of the season three weeks ago.

“He’s a special player,” Darlington coach Justin Danner said. “He’s a very gifted athlete who’s capable of doing a lot of different things, not matter where he’s playing at.”

But a chance to play high school ball his senior year almost eluded Hampton.

“At my other school, I ended up making some dumb decisions that almost cost me a chance to play in college,” Hampton said. “So, (my family and I) decided the best option was for me to move out of that situation and come down here for a chance to get a fresh start.”

Coming to Darlington, Hampton was well aware of what his first step had to be.

“I really just needed to grow up,” he said.

The long, winding road

Darlington marks Hampton’s third school in as many years, with previous stops at Butler and Independence High in Charlotte, N.C., one of the state’s powerhouse programs.

As a junior, Hampton recorded 50 tackles and 10 interceptions for the Patriots in a remarkable season that ended with a verbal commitment to play for the University of Florida.

But his statistics were one of the few high points for Hampton during that time.

“I had never really been a student, really didn’t apply myself,” Hampton said. “And at the time, I started to make some bad decisions about who I was hanging out with.”

Hampton’s inner circle “really didn’t have my best interest in mind” he said.

“They were people in gangs and just people who were trying to lead me into trouble,” Hampton said.

Hampton found himself on the wrong side of the law once, a disorderly conduct charge in July 2008 that has since been dropped, he said.

“That’s really the only problem I’ve ever had like that,” Hampton said. “I’m just glad I got out of that situation before I ended up doing something I would really regret later.”

Hampton had a few hiccups on the field as well with the coaching staff at Independence.

In July, in fact, the Charlotte Observer reported that Independence coach Tom Knotts had dismissed Hampton from the team.

Hampton has a different view, though.

“I was not dismissed, it was something that we all mutually agreed on earlier and it was a life decision for me to come down here,” Hampton said.

Knotts declined to comment when asked about the situation via e-mail.

All that withstanding, Hampton says he still maintains a positive perspective of his coaches and time at Independence.

“I liked all those guys,” he said. “There were times I wish I’d handled situations differently and bit my tongue a little more, but I think I’ve learned to do better when those situations come up now.”

The mentor

A big part of Hampton’s turnaround has come because of his mentor, Cheveron Scott.

Scott, a family friend of Hampton’s mother, has been mentoring Hampton for nearly six months now.

He also opened his doors to Hampton, allowing him to live with him for his senior year to help keep him on track and on the football field.

“He’s a work-in-progress,” Scott said. “I felt like all he needed was some strong guidance and some discipline. I try to work on being a better student and a better person. Very rarely do I bring up football. I think that part will take care of itself.”

Scott, a former Florence city judge who owns a law firm and works as a paralegal instructor at Florence-Darlington Tech, has been mentoring kids for years.
Hampton isn’t even the first person Scott has allowed to live with him for an extended period of time.

“I think we as adults have a tendency to blame the kids in certain situations, how many of us would actually be willing to step up and do something about it?” he said. “I enjoy being around kids and trying to give them a positive role model who isn’t an athlete or in the entertainment business.”

“He’s been a big help to me,” Hampton said. “I come home after practice and do my homework. I’m doing pretty well in school. I’m not falling back into old habits.”

Fitting in

With his ability never in question, perhaps the biggest concern for Hampton was how well and how quickly he would adjust to his new surroundings, his new coaches and his new team.

One of those questions was answered in the very first meeting he had with Danner.

“It was great, it was like I had known the coaches all my life,” Hampton said. “They’re real cool and they accepted me right from the start.”

For Danner, there was never any hesitation about bringing Hampton on board, either.

“As coaches, there are red flags you look for, and after sitting down and talking with Victor, there were no red flags,” Danner said. “These are young kids, and like everyone, they make mistakes. But Victor came in just wanting to play football and just wanting to be one of the guys.”

His new teammates were also very accepting from the start.

“I saw him the gym one day, and he just had the look of a football player,” junior Dominic Cooper said. “We started talking and I found out who he was.”
Quarterback Damien Dubose said the team tried to make Hampton as welcome as possible.

“We tried to not to treat him like the new guy,” Dubose said. “He’s been a good teammate and a good leader. He doesn’t let things on the field worry him.“

Because of eligibility reasons, Hampton wasn’t allowed to play football until the South Florence game. Since then, he has five tackles and one interception in two games.

The Falcons are 1-1 in those two games and 2-4 overall. Hampton said he’s been able to pick things up relatively fast, and hopes to make an impact this season.

“I want to help this team win and to get a championship,” Hampton said. “I think we have a good group of talented players here, we just have to put everything together.”

While Hampton has had an impact, he isn’t the lone weapon the Falcons have. Cooper and Dubose are among those having good years for Darlington, and Cooper thinks it will only get better.

“I think our team has gotten better every week,” he said. “We fell back a little last week against Marlboro County, but we have four games left to make a run.”

“I’m just here to do whatever they need me to do,” Hampton said. “I like that I’m playing both offense and defense. It gives you more opportunities to show what you can do.”

Bright future

Provided Hampton stays on the right path, the future looks bright.

With several Division I colleges already offering, Hampton will likely play in the SEC or ACC next season.

He’ll also play in the Army All-American Bowl in January, a showcase for the top high school talent in the country.

But Hampton knows it can all be gone in an instant.

“I’m just concentrating on staying out of trouble and making better decisions,” Hampton said. “I know this is probably my last chance to do this.”

Aside from making sure he keeps up with schoolwork and stays out of harm’s way, Scott is also working on helping Hampton enjoy life more.

“He’s kind of always been this super-athlete, so he never really got a chance to enjoy just being a kid,” Scott said. “I encourage him to smile more and learn to be himself around people more.

“The only time I ever saw him smile before three months ago was on a football field.”