University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff football coach Alonzo Hampton on Monday gave his first public comments on the claims Jackson State acquired and watched UAPB practice film prior to the teams’ matchup on Nov. 2, a 41-3 JSU win.
Hampton said the Tigers won because they are the better team, not because of any potential wrongdoing.
“I don’t think they needed to do anything, if they did,” Hampton said. “I’m not saying they did. I’m telling you right now, T.C. Taylor’s football program, what he’s done, those student-athletes are really good football players. They were better than us. So, let’s get that out the way. Man, let’s just let this thing go away.”
A source close to the UAPB program told the Commercial a former player gave Jackson State access to film of the Golden Lions’ practices, which was reported to UAPB by a JSU player. The source also said UAPB didn’t wish to make a public spectacle of this given a belief it didn’t change the outcome of the game.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura published a story on the situation on Friday. In his story, he said the former UAPB player in question, who wasn’t identified, denied giving access to the Tigers but said he had shared his login credentials with teammates in the past.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The ESPN report states Hampton, upon first learning about the situation, logged into the software program UAPB uses and discovered it had been accessed through the former player’s account. The IP address was allegedly assigned to Clinton, Miss., which is roughly 10 miles from the JSU campus.
Hampton said a late coaching change during the offseason led to the Golden Lions overlooking some former players whose access should have been removed.
“We had two gentlemen that we had removed from the team, and they still had access to it because I brought in another video coordinator, and it was just an honest mistake,” Hampton said. “But you know what, as a first-time head coach, hey, that’s on me. I didn’t get it done. But at the end of the day, just because somebody leaves their door open, do you walk in their house and take something from them? I wasn’t raised that way.”
Hampton went on to say he typically allows former players to keep their access temporarily so they can gather film needed to help them advance in their football careers, but UAPB will make sure those players’ access is revoked once they no longer need it.
He said no such leaks happened ahead of any other games. Jackson State held UAPB to 3 points and 217 yards of total offense, both season-low performances against teams other than the SEC’s Arkansas.
Jackson State coach T.C. Taylor was also asked about the situation on Monday and gave a brief response.
“I leave that up to the SWAC offices to get everything cleared up with that,” Taylor said. “They’ll make their decision on that, but I’m a say this. We don’t need to go that route to beat any football team. I been doing this a long time, and I pride myself with doing it the right way. I’m a leave it at that.”
The UAPB source told the Commercial the SWAC opened an investigation into the situation. The ESPN report included a statement from JSU indicating the matter had been closed, but a SWAC spokesperson told ESPN the investigation was still ongoing.
The Commercial contacted the SWAC seeking an update on the status of the investigation. A SWAC spokesperson said he would check on it but did not give an answer in time for the publication of this story.
Jackson State hosts Southern in the SWAC Championship Game on Dec. 7.