With the dead period set to end in less than a week, there's no shortage of talent scheduled to travel to State College in June. Already, the Nittany Lions have eight offensive players committed, with running back being one of the few positions that Penn State still has to get sorted out. If all goes to plan for the coaching staff, North Carolina prospect Omarion Hampton will be one of the players that fills their two open scholarships at tailback.
A member of the Rivals250, Hampton may be the 10th-ranked running back in the country, but he sits near the very top of Penn State's recruiting board. Already totaling more than 3,400 yards rushing throughout his career, he's grabbed the attention of schools all over the country, but he's not one to open up about his recruitment much. So, with official visits set to Florida (June 4-6), Auburn (June 11-13), Penn State (June 18-20), Ohio State (June 25-27), we caught up with Cleveland head football coach Scott Riley this week to learn more about not just the player, but his recruitment.
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Ryan Snyder: What makes Omarion Hampton special? What really stands out to you?
Scott Riley: Obviously, his performance on the field kind of speaks for itself. I think the best way to illustrate that is to watch some of the film because you can't even describe some of the things he physically does out on the field. What goes unnoticed is what happens off the field and the kind of work he puts in. He's going to watch more film than pretty much anyone on our team, aside from our quarterback maybe. He loves the weight room. If he has any free time, he'll be coming out onto the field and doing drills on his own. He just loves football and he'll do anything to get better at it. He's also really humble and doesn't talk a whole lot. When your superstar is the hardest working guy on the team, and is also really humble, it makes it easy for the rest of the team to gel together.
Snyder: You guys just finished up your season recently. I know Omarion missed some time with an injury, but can you recap that for me?
Riley: We ended up having a really good year this year, and he got hurt in the middle of the season. It was our fifth game, but our success after he got hurt had a lot to do with his performance. A lot of these guys look up to him and want to keep up with him in the weight room and out on the track and all this other stuff, so it raised everybody's level up a little bit. So, even with him getting hurt, we were still able to make the state championship game. It had a lot to do with what he does off the field. That's the thing that separates him from a lot of other really good high school superstars.
Snyder: I haven’t seen Omarion myself, but everyone says that, physically, he’s on a different level than most other running backs. Do you know any of his numbers in the weight room?
Riley: So, he's been a virtual student this entire year. So, all the records he set were back in the last week of school, so March [2019]. I remember our last day of school was like March 12th or the 13th, something like that. It was also our max testing day for the spring. I remember he benched 365 [pounds], which is the running back and linebacker record. He squatted 585 and wanted to do more. He did that like he was just standing up out of his chair. I wouldn't let him. He already got his A for the class. I don't need my running back really squatting more than 585. [laughs] So, we cut him off there. He also hang cleaned 315 and inclined around 305. We also have a laser timer here, so during that same week, he also ran a 4.38 [40-yard dash].
One other thing I’ll say is that, we have a really fast track team here. That’s why our football team is really good. We don’t overthink it. [laughs] Our B 4x1 team can beat everyone else in our conference, and obviously our A team is really good. But anyway, we had a conference track meet last year, right around the time spring sports were being stopped. I remember he was running the [100-meter] and he was so powerful that he came out of the block and they broke. So, he falls down and rolls twice on the ground. Then, he gets up and beats every kid in the race except our kids from our school. He finished third, after falling and rolling around. When we went back and looked at the block, it was clear he put that 600-pound squat into the block and just smashed it. That’s something I’ll never forget. He didn’t win that day, but it was so impressive.
Snyder: What has Penn State done to earn an official visit? I assume you guys have talked recruiting to some extent?
Riley: The thing I'll stress about Omarion is that, when I say he's humble, I mean it. Like, he legit doesn't like talking about this stuff, unless you get him totally separated from everybody else because one, he's embarrassed by it, I think. I think he thinks he doesn't deserve all this attention. At the same time, we have some other kids on our team getting interest. For example, our quarterback just got an offer, but they're not on the level he has. So, he doesn't like talking about any of this around his teammates. However, we have talked a little bit and I get the impression that he likes a few things Penn State offers. I know he's built a good relationship with the coaches. That's been important. With them, I think he feels very good about their coaching staff there. That's a big thing, because he wants to go somewhere he feels comfortable. That's a big part of it. Obviously, the success they've had with running backs in the NFL is also important. Recently, under Coach [Ja'Juan] Seider, they've been great. I'm a big [New York] Giants fan, so that tells you all you need to know about my thoughts on Saquon [Barkley], but it's not just him. Miles Sanders has been great. I think that's what Omarion really likes. They didn't just make it to the league, but they've been successful when they made it. That's attractive to him. Also, the way he attacks the weight room, and the success Penn State's strength staff has had, that's big, too. Their strength staff is second-to-none. I think all of that stuff plays a big factor in this.
Snyder: A lot of people think North Carolina is in the best position here. Are we getting ahead of ourselves with that? I know that’s really one of the only schools he’s seen so far.
Riley: I think out of the in-state schools, they’ve certainly grabbed his attention. He’s seen all the in-state schools so far, so he does have a better feel for them. He has his official visits set now and those schools are definitely in the mix. We’re pretty centrally located here in North Carolina, so he didn’t want to use those visits on the schools that he can just drive to. But really, there’s only so much you can do right now with the way recruiting is. Zoom calls and that kind of stuff is good, but it only can show you so much. So, I think he still has a lot to learn and long way to go.
Snyder: Ohio State, Florida and Auburn all have visits set with him. Is there anything unique about those schools and how they’ve recruited him? Is there a coach he’s really close with or a connection to any of those schools?
Riley: No, it’s really not much different than with Penn State. I think each of those schools have built a good relationship with him. Virtually, they’ve done a good job. Now, they all just want to impress him when he gets on campus. But really, I think he likes those schools because he feels comfortable with their coaches and he likes how they’d use him. All of them have used running backs well. I think that’s the main two reasons he picked these schools to visit.
Snyder: Do you think he’s going to end his recruitment this summer? Will he end up waiting? Any feel for what he’s leaning towards doing?
Riley: I don’t think he’ll pick a school this summer, but I don’t really know that for sure. He’s done a good job not setting any timetables for himself, which is probably wise. He has those official visits set for June and I know he wants to do some unofficials with the schools around here and maybe to Kentucky. But yeah, I’d be surprised if he picked a school this summer, but that’ll probably depend on if he goes somewhere and it all just clicks.
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