Former Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year Aaron Hampton out of West is doing big things in the ACC. Photo by Mike Wondolowski
At West High School, Aaron Hampton was an offensive star as a flex player. Now he’s flexing on opponents in college, and earlier this month the Cal-Berkeley sophomore from Anchorage etched his name into the Alaska football record book.
The 2023 Gatorade Alaska Player of the Year collected 15 tackles against Virginia and the next week made six stops in a 29-26 victory over No. 14 Louisville. Cal was on a bye last weekend and will face Stanford on Saturday in the 128th Big Game.
Making his first start against Virginia, Hampton made a tackle on the first play of the game on kickoff return coverage and surpassed his career high by the second quarter, when he had five tackles on a single drive, including two solo stops.
In the third quarter, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound Alaskan made back-to-back stops, including a tackle assist on 2-yard gain on 3rd-and-6, forcing a punt. His final tackle was a solo stuff on a 4-yard gain by J’Mari Taylor in the fourth quarter.
Hampton stepped in for starter Cade Uluave and stepped up with a performance for the ages.
“I got a lot of belief in that kid,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox told reporters. “He is self made, he is highly competitive, really tough. He’s got good instincts for the game.”
Hampton’s 15 tackles were the third-highest, single-game total by an Alaskan at the NCAA Division I level and the most for a player from the state since former South standout Edefuan Ulofoshio had 16 tackles at the University of Washington in 2021. Ulofoshio shares the state record of 18 with former Wyoming star Ward Dobbs of Fairbanks.
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Top Career High Tackles for Alaskans
18 – Ward Dobbs, Wyoming 2005
18 – Edefuan Ulofoshio, Washington 2020
16 – Derek Beatty, Weber State 1994
16 – Lui Fa’amasino, New Mexico State 2017
15 – Ed Hall, Idaho 2016
15 – Aaron Hampton, Cal 2025
14 – Reggie Tongue, Oregon State 1995
13 – James Price, Washington State 1998
Source: Alaska Sports Report
In other news, Anchorage’s Deuce Zimmerman has entered the transfer portal and will leave Western New Mexico University after a successful three-year run at the NCAA Division II school.
“I wouldn’t be the man I am today without this school,” Zimmerman wrote on social media. “I want to thank Coach Hickman for always being there for me and giving me an opportunity here to do what I love. Thanks to all the other coaches here that have supported me. I really appreciate it.”
In three seasons, the 6-2 wide receiver posted 104 receptions for 1,611 yards and 20 TDs in 23 career games.
In six games this season, the former East star put up 44-676-10 totals and asserted himself as one of the greatest college receivers from Alaska as his stats rank No. 2 among Division II receivers.
Deuce Zimmerman’s 20 career TDs rank third among Alaska wide receivers in NCAA football. Photo courtesy of WNMU
Zimmerman entered the portal on Monday and as of Wednesday morning, he had received offers from three FCS schools – UT Martin, Northern Arizona and Idaho.
Alaskans have had a good amount of success in the Big Sky Conference from offensive stars like Rocky Klever (Montana) and Derryk Snell (Montana State) to defensive stalwarts such as Ed Hall (Idaho) and Conner O’Farrell (Eastern Washington).
At Sierra College, Anchorage’s Malachi Casey completed his first season with the California junior college and it was a good one.
The 6-1 wideout hauled in 34 catches for 507 yards and five TDs in 10 games.
The former Dimond star furnished a season-high 126 yards against Shasta and had his breakout game against Redwoods with 113 yards and two TDs.
Here are more notes on Alaska players:
- In the NFL, Brandon Pili of Anchorage registered a tackle in Seattle’s 21-19 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It was his fourth game with a tackle in his last five appearances. His five tackles this season are a career-high for the third-year defensive lineman out of USC by way of Dimond. He played tackle his first two seasons with the Dolphins before switching to nose tackle for the Seahawks.
- At Fort Lewis College, Jamal Johnson of Juneau wrapped his sophomore season with 255 yards, two TDs and a 4.3-yards per carry average. After starting the season with 68 yards and a score against William Jewel he matched that stat line against Adams State. In his final game, he rushed four times for 31 yards against Colorado School of Mines.
- At Valley City State University, freshman defensive back Fafo Lefano amassed three tackles against Montana Tech, including his first tackle for loss. The former South standout finished the season with 17 tackles and three interceptions. He had two of those picks – in addition to a recovered fumble – against Rocky Mountain.
- At the Coast Guard Academy, Juneau’s Lucas White recorded 13 tackles against in a 39-38 loss to the Merchant Marines in Division III. The 6-2, 235-pound junior linebacker leads the Coast Guard with 104 tackles, including 41 solo stops. He’s produced game highs of 16, 15 and 14 tackles this season.
- At Montana State University, senior defensive back Jackson Harmon made a career-high four tackles against Weber State earlier this month and will be on the field for Saturday’s rivalry game at Montana. The former South star also had stops against Cal Poly and Northern Colorado in the last month.
