One of the best running backs in UNC history is league-bound.

Omarion Hampton was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers with the No. 22 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft Thursday night. He is the first Tar Heel selected in this year’s draft.

Hampton put together two of the most prolific rushing seasons in program history in 2023 and 2024. After modest success as a freshman in 2022, Hampton exploded onto the national stage with 1,504 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns – both of which led all ACC running backs – in 13 games as a sophomore, teaming up with quarterback Drake Maye to form one of the ACC’s best offensive duos. Hampton added 29 catches for 222 yards and a touchdown. His 16 total scores were also most in the conference.

As a junior in 2024, Hampton carried the load for a UNC offense which started three different quarterbacks during the season. He once again led the conference with 1,660 rushing yards and found the end zone 17 total times (15 rushing, two receiving). His 319 total touches across rushes and receptions were the most in the ACC.

Hampton’s 3,565 career rushing yards rank fourth in UNC history, while his 36 career rushing touchdowns rank third. He is one of just nine Tar Heels ever with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons. His 1,660-yard junior campaign ranks second on UNC’s single-season rushing leaderboard (just 60 yards shy of Don McCauley’s record), and his 1,504-yard sophomore season ranks third. Hampton eclipsed the 200-yard mark in a game three separate times, making him only the seventh Tar Heel to do so.

Hampton’s list of accolades runs deep: he was named first team All-ACC in both 2023 and 2024, while also finishing as one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award (given annually to the nation’s best running back) both years. The Associated Press named him a second team All-American twice, and Hampton earned first team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association in 2024.

This is the second consecutive year UNC has had a player selected in the first round of the draft, after Maye was taken with the No. 3 overall pick by the New England Patriots in 2024. It marks the first time Tar Heels have been selected in the first round of consecutive drafts since a run of four years in a row between 2011 and 2014. Hampton is the 26th Tar Heel in program history to be selected in the first round.

The 2025 NFL Draft runs through Saturday in Green Bay.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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