LSU Football: Maurice Hampton should stick around in Baton Rouge, but not for football

LSU football defensive back Maurice Hampton entered the transfer portal this week.

Hampton, a former four-star recruit who signed with the Tigers during the 2019 recruiting cycle, has seen limited action during his two seasons at LSU.

The former Memphis University School standout has 37 total tackles over his first two seasons in Baton Rouge.

Those stats don’t scream “NFL draft pick”.

Which is exactly why I think Hampton should return to LSU in 2021.

But not to play football.

Maurice Hampton should pivot to baseball

Hampton is also an outfielder for LSU’s baseball team.

And not long ago, Hampton considered quitting football to focus on baseball (via The Advocate).

I think sticking around in Baton Rouge in 2021, focused 100 percent on baseball, would be in Hampton’s best interest.

Playing two sports in college is incredibly tough. The hope is that Hampton will get drafted fairly high in either basebll or football and be set finanically for life. But it can be difficult to excel at the highest level when a player is splitting time between two sports.

Hampton was considered a late first round draft pick in baseball coming out of high school. He turned down a $1.8 million signing bonus to enroll at LSU.

“My bottom line number was around $2.75 million,” said Hampton’s father in 2019. “My thing was if he could bring in at least $1.75 million home in net income, he could secure himself for 15 years.”

If Hampton focuses on being an outfielder in 2021, he could surpass the signing bonus he’s looking for.

But if he chooses to play both sports, there’s a greater risk of injury. And it will be tougher to convince an MLB team to draft Hampton as a junior (an MLB team could end up with another Kyler Murray situation).

NFL players make more money upfront, but MLB players make more money longterm (if they make it past the minor leagues). It’s a gamble.

And Hampton is going to have to bet on himself either way.