At CAA media day, Boykin says Hampton football team looking to reach ‘full potential’ this season

The Coastal Athletic Association held its second football media day via Zoom on Thursday. Head coach Trent Boykin, running back Elijah Burris and linebacker Xavier Marshall represented Hampton University alongside their peers from the CAA.

It’s been almost three months since Boykin took over as the interim head coach for the Pirates after Robert Prunty and the university parted ways in late April. Life’s likely been a whirlwind for Boykin since then, but he said Thursday things have been great.

“We’ve been enjoying it,” Boykin said. “A lot of work. Some early mornings and late nights, but it’s been fun and exciting to kind of be in this position and get this thing rolling.”

Hampton has been selected to finish No. 12 out of 16 teams in the CAA preseason poll. The Pirates had been predicted to finish last in the conference last season before going 5-6 (3-5 CAA) and finishing at No. 11.

Before Prunty departed the program, he said he felt this year’s roster was the best he’d had during his time at Hampton. On Thursday, Boykin, who has been at HU since 2020, agreed with the positive sentiment because of the experience the Pirates are bringing into 2024.

“You got a lot of guys who have played a lot of football for us over these last 2 1/2 years,” Boykin said. “… I really do feel like this is a great, great group of young men who have a lot of football experience and you’re starting to see that come together.”

Burris and Marshall are perfect examples of players on the Hampton roster that come back with lots of experience. Burris, Hampton’s lone All-CAA Preseason honoree, was one of the top running backs in the conference before his season got cut short due to injury. Marshall’s 2023 season also ended early with an injury, but he played 24 games across four seasons for Richmond before arriving at Hampton.

“Everybody just, like Elijah said, has been attacking the field,” Marshall said. “Owning up to everything, taking accountability for everything and taking accountability for their own success and team success. (We’re) really caring about each other and it’s all showing, and it’s all gonna keep showing. We got places to improve on, but throughout the summer camp, we’re gonna get better.”

Boykin recently put the finishing touches on his inaugural coaching staff with the hiring of cornerbacks coach and co-special teams coordinator Darren Jackson last week . That hiring came after Boykin added Howard Feggins as running backs coach and special teams coordinator and Joe Dailey as quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator in June . Boykin also elevated wide receivers coach Bobby Blizzard to offensive coordinator.

“To surround myself with guys with the knowledge they have, the background that they have, to me it’s made my job a little bit easier,” Boykin said. “Because I can bounce some things off of them because they’ve been head coaches, bounce some things off of them because they’ve been coordinators. … I was taught you bring people that know more than you and you can have success. So that’s my biggest thing, is bringing in guys that know more than I do.”

Burris hasn’t had too much time to work with Feggins, but said he’s been a “great” coach since joining Boykin’s staff at Hampton.

“He’s got a lot of knowledge for the game,” Burris said. “In every meeting, he teaches the running backs to stay positive, stay focused and don’t ever get too high or too low. So we attack practice with high energy and make sure we’re doing everything right.”

With Hampton’s season opener against Morgan State a little over a month away, Boykin said the key for the 2024 season will be for the Pirates to reach their capabilities.

“We’ve got to reach our full potential in everything that we do,” Boykin said. “Attack it with that attitude (of) will you fight or will you quit? That’s something that we’ve stressed the whole camp: ‘Will you fight or will you quit?’ If we do those things, if we reach our full potential on and off the field, if we fight or will we quit, if we have that mentality, I think we’ll be OK. Things will take care of itself, but if you go in with that mindset, we’ll have a chance on Saturdays.”

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