Ex-Rutgers safety Saquan Hampton's NFL Draft stock continues to rise
Saquan Hampton’s stock is rising.
Coming off of a solid showing at the East-West Shrine game and putting up good numbers and showcasing his skills at the recent NFL Combine, the former Rutgers safety opened more eyes and performed well at the Scarlet Knights’ Pro Day this past Friday.
Hampton, who measured and weighed in at 6-foot-1, and 206-pounds, notched the best vertical jump out of all 21 ex-Rutgers players at 36.5 inches, the second fastest 60-yard shuttle time at 11.47 seconds, fourth best 3-cone drill in 6.89 seconds, and tied for second in the 20-yard shuttle with a time of 4.28.
Hampton also performed well in the position drills.
“I think I came out here and did some things that caught scout’s eyes with my movements and I think I boosted my stock,” Hampton told TKR. “I’ve been just working hard down in Orlando. They got me right. Each and every day was a grind, but it’s all paid off so far down the road and I’m happy.”
At the Combine, he also ran the 40-yard dash in just 4.48 seconds, had 14 reps on the 225-pound bench press, and had a broad jump of 10-feet, 4-inches. Between his size, production at Rutgers, projections, and testing results, it’s allowed Hampton to generate tons of interest from pro teams.
“I’ve talked with a lot of teams so far at the Combine, the East-West Shrine Game, and throughout this process,” Hampton said. “I’m just enjoying it.”
This past season, Hampton won the Homer Hazel Award, which is given to Rutgers’ MVP of the year. He was also an Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection by the media and coaches and a co-captain.
The Nottingham High product started all 12 games at free safety and led the team with 13 pass breakups and three interceptions including two against Wisconsin. Hampton turned it up in the final half of the year.
For his career, the Hamilton, N.J. native totaled 177 tackles (120 solo), five picks, 24 pass deflections, and one fumble recovery.
Head coach Chris Ash dubbed Hampton as a future star his first summer in Piscataway, and Hampton is now on his way to possibly being taken on Day 2 or Day 3 of the draft.
“I’m not focused on the projections,” Hampton said.”The only thing I can control was my performances like the Combine and here at the Pro Day and just showing myself. That’s all I’m worried about.”
Hampton has grown a lot since arriving at Rutgers. Much has been made about him the quartet of defensive backs in the senior class with him, cornerbacks Isaiah Wharton and Blessuan Austin, and fellow safety Kiy Hester. All four took part in Pro Day and hope to catch on with NFL teams as well.
“We got a good camaraderie with the DBs. Ever since we were freshmen, we’ve grown together and bonded and here we are now,” Hampton said.
“We reached the final step. I remember like it was yesterday when we first came here.”
Check out what scouts had to say on Hampton from Pro Day below.
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisWasky.
Richie Schnyderite contributed to this report.
Ric Serritella -- found of NFL Draft Bible and NFL Draft Analyst at NFLDraftScout.com
Drew Schweitzer
Ian Berg