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Dominique Hampton certainly has the experience, appearing in more University of Washington football games than any of his teammates, 46 and counting.
He has the unique versatility for a defensive back, having played in UW games at cornerback, the Husky nickelback and currently strong safety.
Hampton brings that imposing physique, throwing his NFL-sized 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame at opponents.
Going into last week's California game, in fact, all he really lacked in six years of college football was style points and he can now check off that box, too — he came up with his first Husky career interception in the first quarter against the Golden Bears, leading to an immediate touchdown in a 59-32 victory.
This was all made possible by yet another unique trait Hampton possesses.
"Those things are starting to come to him because he's playing really fast right now," UW co-defensive coordinator Chuck Morrell said. "I'm very, very pleased with game one through four at what his growth has been — but his growth from last season has been through the roof for us."
Returning to his home state of Arizona, Hampton is far more of a finished football product than he's been over those half-dozen years since leaving Centennial High School in Glendora, which is about 120 miles from this weekend's destination of Tucson.
On Saturday night, he'll take the field against the Arizona Wildcats (3-1, 1-0) as the Huskies' leading tackler with 23, two more than stalwart linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio.
For the UW to improve on its glistening 11-2 record from 2022 it needed some of the veterans to step up their games, and Hampton has been one of those guys.
"It's a big energy boost when our defense is shutting things down and our offense is putting points on the board — we're just trying to keep all that going," the UW safety said. "When we're all on the same page, we're one of the best defenses in the country."
With senior free safety Asa Turner out a couple of weeks now with an injury, the unbeaten and seventh-ranked Huskies (4-0 overall, 1-0 Pac-12) have leaned on Hampton even more to keep the secondary stable, to prevent it from getting picked on as it was a year ago, to make it flourish.
Hampton has had his travails, getting stuck behind NFL-bound Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon when he was a cornerback; earning a chance to start for the first time as a safety for Jimmy Lake's team but getting replaced once the coach got fired; and sliding over to nickel last season, where it went OK but wasn't quite a perfect fit.
"It was a big position change for him," Morrell said. "It's his attention to detail, his communication level, the speed of which he's playing. He's been heavily involved in our game plan. He's involved at the point of attack."
Hampton now is a strong safety playing strong, the older guy acting confident and a someone who's come home to Arizona to show off all of this personal development.
And there's no reason people back in the old neighborhood shouldn't be impressed.
Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Inside the Huskies stories — as soon as they’re published.
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