Every year, when the NFL draft rolls around, all 32 teams are looking for complete prospects who can make big plays on the field, smart decisions off the field, and do all the little things in between to make both themselves and the team a success.

Those qualities apply to every position, but especially to the game’s most important ones, including the corner spot.

If your favorite NFL team is looking for that kind of corner in the 2020 NFL draft, USF’s Mike Hampton checks every box.

A Tampa native who fell in love with football at four years old playing for a little league team coached by his father, Hampton played for one of the most legendary coaches in area history, Hillsborough’s Earl Garcia.

“It was real big playing for him, because like you said, everybody knows him,” Hampton said of his time playing for Garcia. “That school, that history, that football program. He was known for sending his kids to college. What I got from him was just being a man. Ever since I came there as a freshman, he’s been on me since Day 1, and that’s stuck with me ever since.”

Garcia’s track record continued with Hampton, who generated plenty of interest from big programs as a recruit. He garnered nationwide attention as one of the top corner recruits in the country, but ultimately spurned offers from Power 5 schools (Iowa, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Iowa State, Indiana) to stay home and play for the Bulls.

“I wanted to be a part of something different, something new,” Hampton said of his decision to stick with the hometown team. “To help continue to put this program on the map. And there’s nothing better than playing in front of your friends and family when they come out to every home came to support you.”

Part of the difficulty for prospects coming out of non-Power 5 programs is proving to NFL teams that they can hang with top competition. Thankfully for Hampton, the Bulls haven’t been shy about scheduling some of the nation’s top teams. They open the 2019 season against Wisconsin and Georgia Tech, have gone 4-0 against Power 5 opponents over Hampton’s two seasons, and have future series scheduled with Alabama, Texas, Florida, Miami and North Carolina State.

“Some analysts think we’re not big enough to tough enough to play with those Power 5 schools,” Hampton says of such critics. “But we’ve proved it over the last couple of years. We can stick with any school in the country. As a player, it’s just a chance to prove yourself, to prove that you can hang with anyone in the country.”

One of the nation’s best cover men, Hampton racked up 18 pass breakups last season as a sophomore. What makes him so successful at getting between the ball and his receiver?

“Just reading the receiver, studying them off the line, and throughout the week before the game,” Hampton says. “I’m studying their routes, the way they come out of their breaks, what they do when the ball is coming to them. Staying inside their hip pocket and watching their eyes.”

When asked to describe his own skill set, Hampton makes it clear he doesn’t like to concede anything to the man lined up across from him.

“I would say it’s stingy, because I don’t like giving up a pass. I don’t care if it’s a hitch, screen,” Hampton says. “I don’t like giving up any kind of pass to my receiver. I’m real stingy, aggressive and physical in coverage.”

That should come as no surprise, considering the players Hampton tries to model his game after.

“I try to model my game after Patrick Peterson, Jalen Ramsey,” says Hampton. “Peterson, because he’s well-respected throughout the league as a true shutdown corner. And Ramsey because he plays with so much passion, so much aggression.”

Heading into his junior campaign, Hampton is surprisingly the elder statesman of the Bulls’ secondary. He’s taking that responsibility as a leader head-on, making sure his unit does all the small things to prepare them for success in 2019.

“We’re planning extra reps after workouts, more film every day, extra work in the treatment room to make sure our bodies are right,” says Hampton. “Just staying on all the little things.”

When it comes to goals, both personal and as a team, Hampton pulls no punches.

“The team goal is to win a conference championship and go undefeated,” Hampton says. “My goal is to lead the nation in interceptions, and be the No. 1 DB coming out.”

Hampton still has two years of college eligibility remaining, but a strong junior campaign could easily put him in the conversation among the top corner prospects in the 2020 NFL draft class. Regardless of when he makes the jump to the next level, Hampton wants NFL general managers to know what kind of player they’ll be getting.

“You’ll be getting a hard-working player who has no trouble on the field or off the field,” Hampton says. “Somebody who’s willing to work, to do anything to help out his team, to come to work every day willing to learn and get better.”

Gallery 2020 NFL draft: Top 50 prospects to watch this college football season View 50 photos

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