The University of Akron Athletics
Football
- Title:
- Offensive Running Game Coordinator | Running Backs
- Email:
- tboykin@uakron.edu
- Phone:
- (330) 972-7466
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Northeast Ohio native Trent Boykin is in his seventh season at Akron. He has expanded his duties in 2018, now serving as the offensive running game coordinator. Boykin returns as the running backs coach after a three-year break when he worked with the tight ends and H-backs.
As the tight ends/H-backs coach in 2017, Boykin coached junior Newman Williams, sophomores Brandon Junk and Darryl Long, and freshman Kobie Booker. Williams, Junk, and Long saw limited action, while Booker exploded during his initial campaign. The true freshman played in 12 games, making eight receptions for 126 yards and four touchdowns.
In 2016, Boykin mentored senior Christian Allen, junior Mykel Traylor-Bennett, who moved to tight end from receiver, and sophomore Newman Williams. Allen served primarily as a blocking tight end, while Traylor-Bennett had nine receptions and a touchdown for 97 yards. Williams had two catches for 16 yards.
In 2015, the blocking tight ends enhanced Akron’s run blocking and pass protection schemes to help the offensive line. The Zips averaged 164.8 yards per game on the ground, 41.1 yards better than last season. Additionally, the Zips rushed for 2,143 total yards, exceeding the 2014 season total of 1,484 (after just 10 games).
Over three seasons, Boykin tutored running back Jawon Chisholm, who rushed for 2,442 yards and 21 touchdowns. The 2014 season saw Chisholm become just the fourth player in school history to eclipse the 3,000-yard career rushing yards. He finished with 3,403 career yards, second-most in program history. Chisholm earned third-team All-MAC honors in 2013.
Under Boykin’s guidance, junior running back Conor Hundley continued his emergence as one of the top runners on the squad, rushing for 540 yards on 104 carries in 2014. The highlight of Hundley’s season was a career-high 148 yards on 19 carries (7.8 ypc) in Akron’s 21-10 upset win at Pittsburgh. He rushed for 425 yards on 100 carries, including just eight rushes for negative yards, in 2013.
Boykin spent the 2011 season as running backs coach at Wayne State, helping the Warriors to a school-record 12-win season and the program’s first-ever appearance in the Division-II national championship game. The team closed the season listed 33rd nationally in rushing yards per game (200.56) and 23rd in scoring offense (34.48 ppg).
Under his watch in 2011, Wayne State had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season for the first time in school history.
Boykin spent the 2010 campaign as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Lambuth (Tenn.) and was the head coach for two seasons (2008 and 2009) at Lane College (Tenn.). Before working at Lane, he spent three seasons as assistant head coach at Kentucky State.
A 1995 graduate of Youngstown State with a degree in organizational communication, Boykin began his coaching career as an offensive graduate assistant at Akron (1996-97). He also served one year at Boston College (1998) as an offensive graduate assistant before coaching receivers at Tiffin in 1999. He spent three years (2000-02) as YSU’s wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator, and oversaw the running backs and special teams at Ball State in 2003 and 2004.
Boykin, 47 (born Nov. 13, 1970), was awarded four varsity letters in football and played on three Division I-AA national championship teams (1991, 1993, 1994) at Youngstown State under then head coach Jim Tressel. He completed his collegiate career ranked second on the Penguin’s career receptions (150) list and seventh in career receiving yards (1,950). He also held the school record for career punt returns (74) and career punt return yardage (534), and was named the program’s outstanding offensive player in 1994.
Boykin was inducted into the Kent Roosevelt High School Hall of Fame in 2006.
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Boykin's Year-By-Year Coaching Experience
1996-97 – Akron (graduate assistant)
1998 – Boston College (graduate assistant)
1999 – Tiffin (receivers)
2000-02 – Youngstown State (receivers | special teams)
2003-04 – Ball State (running backs | special teams)
2005-07 – Kentucky State (assistant head coach | offensive coordinator)
2008-09 – Lane College (head coach) (4-17 record)
2010 – Lambuth (co-offensive coordinator | quarterbacks)
2011 – Wayne State (running backs)
2012-14 – Akron (running backs)
2015-17 – Akron (tight ends | H-backs)
2018- Akron (offensive running game coordinator | running backs)
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