Duke CB Coach Chris Hampton on What He Wants From His Players

New assistant wants to play fast and physical

New Duke cornerbacks coach Chris Hampton hasn’t had much time with his players—three practices in spring and just over two weeks so far this summer. But he’s hoping the Blue Devils are getting familiar with his style.

“I would think we would be fast, physical, not beat ourselves,” he said. “Be a group that makes plays and is always around the ball. I hope that the number one aspect you would see in a group coached by me would be that they play with extreme effort. That’s what I try to get across to the guys, that we’ve got to play with great effort every single snap. That’s something I’ve taken a lot of pride in throughout my career. That’s what I expect to see.”

Hampton has been doing a lot of teaching, and he’s confident the players have done plenty of learning.

“What you want first is a teacher as a coach,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to teach, to make the complex simple. That’s something I think I have a gift of doing, hopefully. These guys are smart guys. They’re at Duke University. Obviously, they catch on quickly. They’re adapting. We only had three days of spring and had lot of Zoom meetings over the summer. They’ve adapted well. They’ve taken to coaching or teaching. They’re quick learners.”

One benefit he has in his transition is Mark Gilbert, a former All ACC cornerback who returns after two years battling injury.

“He looks very good,” Hampton says of the veteran. “He’s in great shape. You can tell he worked extremely hard over quarantine. He’s smart. He’s very cerebral. He’s doing a good job practicing at a high level. You would never know he was hurt from watching him practice every day.”