Trent Boykin ready to take over Hampton University football: ‘I’ve been preparing for this a long time.’

HAMPTON — Just over a week ago, Hampton University running backs coach Trent Boykin was suddenly elevated from assistant coach to interim head coach.

The change in leadership came after Hampton and head coach Robert Prunty agreed to mutually part ways nearly two months after the Pirates had concluded spring practice and a day before the transfer portal closed.

“I worked out that morning and was getting dressed to come into work and got a call like, ‘You need to be here about an hour earlier,’’ Boykin said in a press conference Wednesday. “It was shock when it happened. But when it happened I sat down (and said) let’s go.”

Boykin has been with Hampton since 2020 and has nearly 30 years of college coaching experience. He’s rubbed elbows with some coaching greats so it made sense when he said his first two calls after he got the job were to Jim Tressel and Joe Taylor.

“I think if I have those two guys in my corner, I’ll be okay,” Boykin said.

Boykin played for Tressel during his dominant run at Youngstown State and helped bring home three I-AA national titles as a wide receiver. He coached alongside Tressel at Youngstown State for a year in 2000 before Tressel moved on to take over at Ohio State.

Taylor is a giant in the history of HBCU football and a Hampton University legend. He coached the Pirates from 1992 to 2007, guiding Hampton from Division II to the Football Championship Subdivision, and won five Black college national championships.

“I’ve been around great head coaches in the past. So no matter when we’re in staff meetings, practices, I’m always thinking as a head coach,” Boykin said. ” Like, OK, what would I do here? What’s going on here? I’m always taking notes. … So for this to happen, it’s not overwhelming to me because I feel like I’m going on 26 years of coaching so I didn’t feel overburdened with it. I’ve been preparing for this a long time.”

This isn’t Boykin’s first head coaching gig. He led Lane College, a Division II HBCU in Tennessee, to a 4-17 record in two years as head coach from 2008-09. Hampton athletic director Anthony Henderson said during the press conference Wednesday that Boykin was a candidate for a head coaching job elsewhere during this offseason.

Boykin met with Henderson during that time to prepare for the interview. Henderson said that time, combined with the relationship the two have dating back to when they were both at Akron, helped with the process of selecting Boykin to be the interim coach.

“I kinda helped him with that, I’m glad he didn’t get it,” Henderson joked. “…But that also helped with the process because we had already talked through what he would do as a head coach, how he would plan his practices, how he would go about being the CEO of a program. So he had really already interviewed, not even knowing that he had interviewed because we had worked through that for his other opportunity that he was trying to get.”

The energy level surrounding the Hampton football program has been “great” in the last week, Boykin said. He said his staff has been “amazing” during the transition and hard at work recruiting. Boykin said the timing of the leadership change with the transfer portal closing hasn’t affected recruiting logistics too much.

“We’re not kind of running around with our heads cut off because we were already working in that area,” Boykin said. “It’s just the timing and the speed of how fast we bring guys in, we amped that up, but we were already in the process of doing it anyway.”

With Boykin’s elevation to head coach, he’ll have a third spot to fill on his coaching staff. The first two spots opened in early April after the departures of offensive coordinator Zack Patterson and cornerbacks coach Brandon Payne.

Boykin said he plans to hire a new quarterbacks, secondary and running backs coach relatively soon and has already interviewed two candidates for each position with more set up for next week. Boykin said the offensive coordinator role will most likely be filled from within.

Hampton finished 5-6 last year with a 3-5 record in Coastal Athletic Association play. Headed into the 2024 season Boykin feels Hampton has a strong foundation and the Pirates can meet Henderson’s goals of being competitive in the CAA and making the FCS playoffs.

“The guys are in the building, you can see them on the field working out,” Boykin said. “They’re coming around, asking questions and getting around their coaches now. Our coaching staff has been amazing. … I think everybody is just excited and thrilled about where this thing is going to go and where this program is going to go. And that’s what we’re building — we’re building a program.”

Michael Sauls, (757) 803-5774, michael.sauls@virginiamedia.com