Jamie Hampton now can focus his attention on finding his receivers instead of weighing his college options.

Last week, the Cedar Bluff senior quarterback committed to Division I and Big 10 Conference member Purdue.

Hampton accepted the Boilermakers’ scholarship offer after being heavily recruited by Southeastern Conference members Auburn and Kentucky.

In his first full season as a starter in 2005, the All-State, All-Region and All-County signal-caller completed 117 of 184 passes for 1,989 yards. He threw for 35 touchdowns against only two interceptions.

Hampton’s production helped the No. 6 ranked Tigers to an undefeated regular season and a school-record 12 wins.

Cedar Bluff reached the state quarterfinal round for the third straight year.

Hampton caught the attention of Purdue quarterback coach Ed Zaunbrecher after the latter watched some 2005 game film.

Zaunbrecher was impressed enough to visit a Cedar Bluff practice, at the end of which he invited Hampton to a Purdue camp in late June.

While in LaFayette, Indiana, Hampton raised the eyebrows of head coach Joe Tiller, and the Boilermakers extended Hampton a scholarship offer the following week.

“Purdue definitely was the most aggressive school in recruiting me,” said Hampton. “It kind of relieves some of the stress in deciding where to go [to college]. I don’t have to worry about it and can just go out and play. I really like the [Purdue] coaching staff, and the athletic facilities were really nice.

“[Purdue] has a spread offense like ours. They use a lot of no-huddle shotgun [formations] and pass around 40 times a game. It’s basically a dream offense for a quarterback.

“Right now I’m really looking forward to playing Sand Rock [on Sept. 1], and I’m sure that they’re looking forward to playing us.”

Hampton said that he’s looking at pharmacy and opto-metry as possible majors.

“It’s a big honor for Jamie and it reflects well on our program,” said Cedar Bluff head football coach Jonathan McWhorter. “I have no doubt about Jamie competing at the Division I level. He can handle the load both athletically and academically.

“What really distinguishes Jamie on the field is that he’s very even-keeled. He never gets too high or too low, which is important at that position. The transition from high school to the new surroundings of a big university is tough for anyone, but Jamie’s a hard worker and an ‘A’ student, so he’ll be fine.”

McWhorter noted that senior lineman Austin Hayes continues to attract much attention from D-I schools.

“The bigger schools like to wait a while before offering [scholarships] to non-skill position players. They usually wait on the linemen to see how their senior season goes and see how much weight they put on. But he’s getting a lot of letters, so we’ll see what happens.”

McWhorter also reported that two former Tigers would be teammates at the University of North Alabama in Florence.

2006 graduate and All-State halfback Jeremy Bryant will walk on for the Lions, while 2005 graduate and All-State linebacker Josh Hampton transferred from the University of the South.

“Both kids will have to sit out this year - Josh be-cause he has to as a transfer and Jeremy because that’s the case for most incoming freshmen,” said McWhorter. “I’m very proud for both of them for getting a chance to continue their education and play ball.”