Ashton Hampton Says Better Communication Has Clemson Secondary on Same Page

Two games into Clemson's season, Ashton Hampton sees a difference in the Tigers' secondary.

It isn't necessarily talent. It's communication.

“I feel like last year it might have been a little bit of a disconnect,” Hampton said Tuesday. “But I feel like this year we've really honed in on the small details and making sure that we're communicating with one another and making sure we all know each other's jobs and what everybody's doing on every single play.”

That connection has helped the secondary emerge as an early bright spot for a Clemson defense still trying to find consistency after a difficult start to the season.

The Tigers surrendered 51 points in their season-opening loss at LSU before responding with a 22-7 win over Georgia Southern.

Clemson forced eight three-and-outs, limited Georgia Southern to 266 total yards and held the Eagles to seven points, their lowest scoring output since a 27-3 loss to Appalachian State on Nov. 27, 2021.

Hampton said the communication among himself and players such as Jerome Carter III, Corey Myrick and Elliot Washington II has been a major part of the group's progress.

“We're all able to communicate well with one another and just making sure we're all on the same page,” Hampton said.

The junior cornerback has plenty of experience to judge the difference. Hampton started all 13 games last season, playing 695 defensive snaps while recording 47 tackles and 11 pass breakups.

His assessment of his own play through two games, however, wasn't entirely complimentary.

“I feel as an individual, I played pretty well,” Hampton said. “But overall as a team, I feel we have to play a lot better.”

Hampton specifically pointed to his work against the run.

“I have to do better in the run game,” he said. “I have to do a lot better on my tackling and stuff like that. It's honing in on the little details and just making sure that I'm being more consistent on my tackling.”

Those little details have become a recurring theme for a Clemson defense trying to ensure the performance at LSU doesn't repeat itself.

Hampton said the message from Clemson's coaches following the loss was straightforward: flush it and move forward.

“That one game really doesn't define us because obviously we gave them 51 points,” Hampton said. “That's not something that you want to do as a defense.”

The response against Georgia Southern was encouraging, but Hampton wasn't interested in treating it as an accomplishment.

“There are also some things that we need to clean up, like giving up a couple of big plays,” Hampton said. “It was fun to go out there and have a little bit of a dominating performance against Georgia Southern, but that's what we're expected to do.”

Now comes another test as Clemson's first ACC game of the season arrives when North Carolina visits Memorial Stadium for a noon kickoff Saturday.

For Hampton and a secondary that believes it has become more connected, the challenge is turning two weeks of lessons into something sustainable.

“Most games come down to three or four plays,” Hampton said. “We're just going to make sure that each play has that intensity that it deserves.”