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Provo • Running down the lengthy list of schools that recruited him, BYU cornerback Joe Sampson mentions Miami.

Asked if he wanted to reconsider his choice of schools, since Saturday night's game against San Jose State will likely be the Cougars' first this season in fall-like weather, Sampson shakes his head.

Everything is going well, he reports.

There's no other place he'd rather be attending school, playing football and building the foundation for the rest of his life.

"I'm getting into the system," Sampson said, "and my teammates have welcomed me."

Sampson has helped make the transition from junior college in California to Provo go smoothly by playing extremely well in BYU's first five games.

He shares the boundary corner position with Preston Hadley, and his late interception near the goal line two weeks ago saved the Cougars' 24-17 win over Central Florida.

Clearly, Sampson has helped BYU's secondary become a strength of the defense.

The Cougars have held three of their first five opponents to less than 150 passing yards. BYU ranks 28th in pass defense, allowing only 189.2 yards per game.

"Joe is a really good player — just a natural, instinctive defensive back," said Cougar linebacker Brandon Ogletree.

"He has a nose for where the play is going to end up, and he's not afraid of contact. That's always a plus — to have a cornerback who likes to hit."

Sampson came to BYU after stops at Foothill College and College of San Mateo. He committed to the Cougars at the start of the 2010 season and was expected to arrive in December, so he could participate in spring practice.

It didn't work out that way.

Sampson needed to finish some classroom work.

Still, rumors swirled that he had changed his mind and wasn't coming to BYU.

Not true.

"I just had an extra class that I needed to take," Sampson explained. "It didn't happen on time, so it took me one extra semester to get here."

Why BYU over such schools as Arizona State, Oregon State, Oregon, Indiana, Utah and Miami?

"The main focus for me was faith," Sampson said. "There's no other program in the country that represents faith and football at the same time like Brigham Young."

Another factor: Sampson's cousin is Brian Logan, a former Cougar. They played together for a year at Foothill College.

"He had a lot of influence on me," Sampson said. "He's always been a supporter and he tells me a lot of real things that maybe somebody else would try to sugarcoat."

Logan recommended BYU to Sampson because "it was a good environment — a good place to put God first and represent your faith. So he was a big part of all this."

His late arrival in Provo limited the immediate impact Sampson had on the BYU defense, but he is quickly making up for the lost time.

"I wasn't concerned," he said. "I knew I would learn the scheme fairly fast because I study football a lot. It did kind of set me back a little bit, but not so much that it really affected me."

So far, Sampson has been credited with 13 tackles, one sack and his huge interception off Central Florida's talented quarterback, Jeff Godfrey.

"He started to scramble, and I picked up the guy closest to me," Sampson said. "Then he started to roll out, so I moved off that guy to the next guy. The interception, I guess, the interception was a reward for doing that."

Right place, right time.

Sampson believes the same thing about his move to BYU. —

Joe Sampson file

Hometown • Oakland, Calif.

Position • Cornerback

Class • Junior

Height • 5-10 | Weight • 205

Junior colleges • San Mateo, Foothill