Former Powhatan High School football standout Taron Hampton wasted no time in making his debut at running back for Virginia State University and took full advantage of the opportunity when it came his way.

When the Powhatan High School great selected Virginia State last spring the Trojan coaching staff had high hopes for his future on the Petersburg campus, but were guarded about the immediate impact the 5’9”, 185 pound speedster might have.

“We run a very complex Mid-Atlantic Spread offense.” said Offensive Coordinator Michael Morand “and it takes time to learn it.” The Virginia State offense normally features a single running back set, making the lone back an obvious target of the defense in any running situation.

“It’s like an H-back set with one guy in the backfield most of the time,” Hampton said. “It is a much more wide open and spread offense than what I was used to in high school.” But during the summer Hampton, “came in here and got acquainted with what we do. He took to our coaching well and learned our system very quickly,” Coach Morand said.

This commitment to learning a new system quickly, combined with his natural abilities, earned Hampton the starting nod for the season opener against power house Norfolk State on September 27. The Virginia State coaching staff does not regret that decision.

Hampton carried the ball 23 times and gained 122 yards against a truly stout Spartan defense. The Norfolk State defense was so dominating, in fact, that it only allowed Virginia State one score. Meanwhile the Spartans offense piled up 47 points in the biggest margin of victory in the history of this long-time rivalry; which makes Hampton’s achievements even more impressive.

“He’s a really great kid and he came in here and got it done,” Coach Morand said of his performance. Hampton ripped off one run of 30 yards and caught a swing pass for seven yards, but the majority of his work was grind it out yardage against the nationally sixth ranked Spartans (Sheridan Broadcasting Network’s pre-season poll of black colleges; their 47-6 drubbing of the Trojans earned them third place in this week’s poll). In the final statistics the Spartans held the Trojans to a net of 103 yards rushing, Hampton’s football career at Powhatan High School was highlighted by numerous all-time school records. He ranks first in all-purpose yards with an amazing 2,641 yards gained during the 2007 season. His career 55 touchdowns scored also takes first place honors. 28 rushing touchdowns and 1,882 rushing yards, both achieved in 2007, are also PHS single season records.

The AA All-State running back was reserved about his performance against Norfolk State. “I started out a little slow; the defense was so much faster than it was in high school, but I got it together,” he said.

“Starting as a freshman really felt great, but I didn’t think I would start this way either.” Hampton, understandably, suffered from pre-game apprehension. “Everybody was telling me how great they (Norfolk State) were.”

But his teammates also gave him the key to overcoming his first game jitters. “They told me to act just like I would if I was in high school,” he said. “They told me, they couldn’t stop you when you were carrying the rock then, so act just like you did then.”