Hampton Plays All Secondary Roles, But the Husky Is Made for Him

With UW fall camp opening soon, we're examining each starting spot and creating a depth chart that consists of all scholarship players in competition for each role.

Hampton said he's finally found a home in Montlake. This newly created position better suits him than cornerback or safety, enabling to use his physicality with hopefully fewer setbacks.

A little too aggressive, he drew a pair of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for late hits last season. As a hybrid Husky, he should be in better position to tee off on the other guys and not get flagged for it. 

HYBRID HUSKY DEPTH

1) Dominique Hampton, 6-2, 216, Jr., Glendale, Ariz.

2) Kamren Fabiculanan, 6-1, 189, Soph., Camarillo, Calif.

3) Tristan Dunn, 6-4, 188, Fresh., Sumner, Wash.

Hampton and Fabiculanan enter fall camp likely slotted 1-2 in this new position. A year ago, they were reversed starting out, with the player known as Kam Fab drawing his first and only UW start at safety against Montana in the season opener and Hampton missing the game presumably because he was injured..

Hampton wouldn't draw his first career start until eight games into the season when he opened at safety against Stanford on the road and was in the lineup on the following weekends against Oregon and Arizona State, too. By all accounts he did well, but he came off the bench to close the season against Colorado and Washington State.

Fabiculanan learned how opportunities can be fleeting at this level. He opened against Montana, was demoted following the loss and then got beat on a long touchdown run at Michigan, and saw his minutes decrease thereafter. The long and lean player sat out four of the final six games. He's still young and should be able to work his way back into everyone's good graces. 

Dunn brings huge size for a defensive back and maybe the perfect frame for this newHusky position. When discussing his original signees, DeBoer seemed to intimate that Dunn might be ready to play right away. 

Conclusion: As DeBoer provided some new wrinkles to how things are done, Hampton might have been the player who benefitted most from the coaching change. Sensing his rugged style was a good fit for the Husky role, the secondary coaches let Hampton know right away what they had in mind for him. Fabiculanan, after his dues-paying season, should be much more comfortable this time around. Dunn will be someone to keep an eye on and see how he comes out of the gate.

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