*Video of Hampton's interview is posted below this piece.
CHAPEL HILL – As loud as Omarion Hampton is when his pads pop defenders on the football field, he’s quiet off of it.
Very little can get North Carolina’s All-America running back to talk. Not even passing the thousand-yard rushing mark for the second consecutive season, like he did during the Tar Heels’ win at Virginia last Saturday.
Hampton is one of only nine UNC players to post multiple seasons with 1,000 yards or more on the ground. Yet, don’t expect Hampton to pound his chest and boast about the accomplishment.
“That’s one of those things I really look at after the season,” he said, deflecting the milestone. “I just focus on the game that week. I usually don’t look into it.”
The Tar Heels acknowledged him in the locker room in Charlottesville for hitting 1,000 yards again, and he was asked to give a speech, but that’s not Hampton’s style. No speech.
“All the guys, they were yelling ‘speech’ and everything like that,” Hampton said, smiling. “But I was just tired.”
So, what would it take for Hampton to actually give a speech to his teammates? What would he have to achieve?
“I might say something, a little bit, at the end of the year,” he said. “But you never know.”
The numbers will keep accumulating for the 6-foot, 220-pounder from Clayton. He takes on a heavy workload each week, so at some point, he just may have no choice but to speak to the rest of the Heels about his achievements.
Hampton has touched the ball 25 times or more in five different games, and twice has had more than 30 touches. He has 23 receptions and 181 runs, not including plays in which flags were thrown. That’s 204 touches in eight games, and he only had 11 against Charlotte because of an injury in the first half.
That’s an average of 25.5 touches per game, and removing the Charlotte contest, it moves up to 27.6 per game.
Staying in the treatment room and doing what he must for his body. Hampton says it might not be until Wednesday when he feels fully ready to go again.
But he will gladly carry it more if asked to. UNC Coach Mack Brown says Hampton “gets mad” when he’s taken out of the game.
“I’m always ready to go back in the game,” he said. “Just because I love the game so much, it’s always been like that as a kid, I’ve always been like that when (coaches) take me out.”
That being said, just how many touches could Hampton handle in a game? And to note, he was asked the question after being told about Mike Voight, one of the greatest Tar Heels of the 1970s who once carried the ball 47 times in a win over Duke.
“I feel like it wouldn’t matter,” he said regarding the number of carries he can handle. “Whatever we’ve got to do to win, whatever I can do to put my team in a situation to win I feel like I’d be up for it.”
Could he ever imagine carrying it 47 times?
“If I do, I’ll be ready for it.”
We spoke with Hampton on Tuesday at the Kenan Football Center about the things above and some other topics noted below. Also posted below is video of his Q&A session:
What Else Did Hampton Say?
*Hampton also discussed how he’s worked on the receiving part of his game, the work he puts in with the jugs after practice.
*Hampton was asked if he’s given any thought to these last four games being his final four at UNC. He said he hadn’t thought about it and won’t until down the road.
*He was asked a few more questions about healing his body after getting hit so much each week.
*Davion Gause has been mentored by Hampton since he arrived, and the veteran sees a very bright future for Gause.
*Natrone Means is one of Carolina’s best running backs ever who also passed the thousand-yard mark twice in his career. He has been with the program since Hampton arrived, and they’ve developed a special relationship. Hampton spoke about that and Means insisting he watch his film from his UNC days and time in the NFL.
