Long Beach City College sophomore wide receiver De'Quan Hampton (Dominguez HS) has signed his National Letter of Intent to continue his academic and athletic career at the University of Southern California (USC) this fall.
Hampton, along with six members of the LBCC men's soccer team, were joined by LBCC Football Head Coach Brett Peabody, Long Beach Community College District President-Superintendent Eloy Ortiz Oakley, Vice President of Academic Affairs Terri Long, Dean of Student Affairs and Athletics Connie Sears, and LBCC Director of Athletics Joe Cascio, as well as family, friends, and college staff at a signing day ceremony at the campus this morning.
Today marked the opening day of the regular signing period for community college and high school football, soccer, and water polo student-athletes that allows them to officially commit to four-year colleges.
"I'm proud to be a Trojan," said Hampton. "I've worked very hard for this to happen. I'd like to thank my family for all their support and Coach Peabody and all the coaches here that helped me get to this point."
Hampton verbally committed to USC in June prior to the Vikings' 2014 season. The 6'4", 220-pound receiver played a big part in a very successful 9-2 LBCC football season. He earned second-team Southern California Football Association All-Central League honors, leading the Vikings with 64 receptions for 839 yards and seven touchdowns.
As a freshman in 2013, Hampton caught 50 passes for 854 yards and 12 touchdowns on his way to first-team all-conference honors.
"This is a great day for Viking football," said Peabody. "I am extremely proud of De'Quan and all that he has accomplished. He put in all the hard work in training and in the classroom and it paid off."
Hampton was rated as a four-star recruit by Rivals.com and was ranked as the No. 5 community college recruit in the nation.
"De'Quan Hampton is a big, physical receiver," said USC head coach Steve Sarkisian. "He's a guy that can go outside and win one-on-one matchups with the corner and try to force some double coverage to open things up for other guys."
With two years of eligibility remaining, Hampton is expected to make a major impact on the USC offense next season.
According to Peabody, more members of the 2014 LBCC football team will also be signing letters of intent in the weeks to come, including fellow wide receiver Josiah Blandin (Poly HS).
During the early mid-year signing period in December, quarterback Kenny Potter (San Jose State), tight end Clayton Granch (New Mexico State), offensive lineman Patrick Scoggins (Iowa State University), and offensive lineman Ryan Pope (San Diego State) all signed with NCAA Division I universities and are already attending classes this spring.