Hampton interim head coach Trent Boykin, though, opts for more formal attire, typically wearing a button-down shirt and a necktie with a Hampton vest. Boykin said the inspiration comes from his former college head coach, Jim Tressel.

“Tressel always wore a tie,” Boykin said. “I don’t know, I just always felt like that, as a head coach, everybody has their style, I guess. Being around Tressel for five years as a player, and then a year with him on his coaching staff — kind of just following his deal. Even with Coach Terry Bowden, when I was with Coach Bowden, that was something that he wore, too.”

Boykin played under Tressel during his run at Youngstown State and helped lead the Penguins to three Division I-AA national titles in 1991, 1993 and 1994. Boykin was also a member of Tressel’s final coaching staff at Youngstown State in 2000 before he took over at Ohio State.

Boykin was a member of Bowden’s coaching staff for eight years at Akron from 2012-18.

While the two biggest inspirations for his sideline attire are Tressel and Bowden, Boykin said the coaches of that era in general are typically what he models his style after.

“I’m an old-school guy,” Boykin said. “I grew up back when the (Dallas) Cowboys and all them and those guys wore the fedora hats and the ties and the sports coats and all that stuff. So that’s kind of something that I’ve always admired.”

The more formal attire gives off a sort of authoritative vibe, but also forces Boykin to remain calm on the sideline, he joked.

“It kind of shows that, ‘Hey, we’re in control,’ ” Boykin said. “It’s something that shows that, I guess, you’re calm, and maybe too it keeps you calm when you know you got to tie on. (Can’t) rip your headphones off and scream and yell. Maybe that helps me stay calm.”

Fans shouldn’t expect a full suit on the sideline from Boykin this season, though he joked he “can’t say never” to the idea. The tie and vest will be sticking around, Boykin said, though he admitted he may have to get creative when the temperature starts dropping later in the season.

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

Now, 48 hours removed from the game, Odums is hoping he and his squad can learn from their mistakes and rebound against VMI this weekend.

“When you look at that film, we got to do simple, better,” Odums said during his weekly press conference Monday. “And really, that’s what it comes down to. We got to execute — and that’s all of us. It’s not just one area, one person, anything. I take full responsibility for that because we did not play like we had those first three games. We see what we did, we just got to look at it, identify, fix it and correct it for this next opponent in VMI, which is a very good football team.”

Saturday’s loss to Hampton was the Spartans’ worst since they lost by 41 in 2005. Odums made it sound like motivation to get back into the win column this weekend will certainly not be lacking.

“When you play like we played on Saturday, the motivation is to get to the next game,” he said. “The motivation is we let our home crowd down, we let our fans down. We didn’t play like we were capable of playing. That falls on me as the head coach, and I understand that, but we have to do a better job as a staff and we have to do a better job as a program and as a football team to make sure that when we come out that tunnel, we’re prepared to play.”

Injuries lead to poor offense

After a relatively good start to the season, Norfolk State’s offense faltered against Hampton. The Spartans put together a measly 21 total yards in the first half and just barely eclipsed the century mark for the game, finishing with 104.

Norfolk State was averaging 175.6 rushing yards per game before the loss to Hampton and eclipsed 200 in two of its first three games. Against the Pirates, Norfolk State running backs only averaged 1.9 yards per carry and compiled 58 yards on 30 carries.

On Monday, Odums attributed the lack of production on the ground to inconsistency in execution, but also to personnel due to injuries. Norfolk State was without two starters on the offensive line Saturday, most notably left tackle Samuel Eskridge.

“You go look at our Hampton game — we didn’t play like we played in FAMU and Virginia State,” he said. “It’s some missing pieces. There’s some missing pieces to that puzzle up front. The continuity when you got guys in and out, even when we put five out there throughout the game, guys are going in and out, so it’s hard to get that continuity. When you don’t have continuity, it’s hard to be consistent.”

The Spartans were also missing wide receivers Kam’ryn Thomas and Elyjah Mitchell. It’s still early in the week, so details on the recovery of the offensive line and wide receiver room remain minimal, but Odums is hopeful he’ll get some depth back for VMI.

Diagnosing the defense

Norfolk State’s defense started off great this season, but took a major step back against Hampton. The Spartans entered the game allowing 127.5 rushing yards, but the Pirates were able to rack up 135 in the first half alone and 227 for the game.

After watching film from Saturday’s loss, Odums and defensive lineman Marcus Mauney said the lack of success against the run was because if faltering gap integrity.

“You’ll see us play one out of the three downs the way we are capable of playing and then all of a sudden, we get creased,” Odums said. “That’s just us being more physical at the point of attack and just us having a good understanding on defense of what we’re doing. … A few times out there, guys didn’t get the call and it looked like a first game versus a fourth game. That’s what you can’t have, especially against your crosstown rivals.”

Mauney believes the Spartans will get back on track against VMI, a team that Odums is preaching is better than its 0-3 record.

“Everybody just has to be on the same page, same time, to make sure that everybody’s gapped out and gap-sound,” Mauney said. “That’s something that we’re definitely going to harp on a lot this upcoming week, and I think we’ll be fine. We’re still figuring it out, and we’re going to figure it out.”

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

Hampton walked into Dick Price Stadium and beat Norfolk State 37-7, giving the Pirates their first win over the Spartans since 2022. The win was the sixth in a row for visiting teams in the series. Hampton improved to 2-1 on the season, while Norfolk State dropped to 1-3.

“Our guys worked hard all week,” Hampton interim head coach Trent Boykin said. “The biggest thing was last week, we got our first (win) but we knew we weren’t satisfied with that. I thought all three phases played well. Defense played their butts off. Offense played fast, like we talked about all week. … Excited for these guys, excited about winning this rivalry and let’s move on to the next one.”

The Pirates dominated in all facets of the game, totaling 466 yards while limiting Norfolk State to just 104.

“Oh, man, bad today,” Norfolk State coach Dawson Odums said. “I take full responsibility for it. We didn’t play well. We got some guys that’s beat up and banged up and out, so it was tough. Offensively, we couldn’t muster anything. Defensively, we weren’t very good against the run. So when you can’t stop the run and you can’t run, makes for a long day. And it was a long day. Take my hat off to Hampton, they played extremely well and we didn’t. We just didn’t have it from start to finish.”

Hampton got out to an early 9-0 lead after a successful 22-yard field goal from Brian Csehoski and a 3-yard touchdown run from quarterback Chris Zellous.

Hampton had no trouble moving the ball in the first half and was able to pour on more points, thanks to a 3-yard rushing touchdown from Tymere Robinson. That score made it 16-0 midway through the second quarter.

Boykin’s squad was nearly perfect in the first half on the ground. Norfolk State came into the game allowing opponents to run for only an average of 127.5 yards per game, but the Pirates were able to rack up 135 in the first half.

“We thought their two inside guys were good and we felt like if we could get them running left and right, then we could start hitting them inside,” Boykin said. “So that was kind of the game plan. They’re a very good defense, but we felt like they don’t play with a lot of depth, so if we can get them going and get them tired, then that’s when you saw the big chunks come.”

While Hampton’s offense was moving easily in the first half, Norfolk State’s offense was the exact opposite.

The Spartans remained in the negative for a majority of the first half and went three-and out on their first three drives of the first half. Norfolk State was forced to punt on all four of its first-half drives.

“(The defense was) playing with their hair on fire,” Boykin said. “Again all week, we talked about we weren’t satisfied with that performance (last week against Virginia Union). Glad we got to win, but the performance wasn’t where we want to be. If we want to be an elite program, we got to play that way. They came out and set the tone early. Three and out, three and out, flying all around. So it had to make our offense step our game up because we want to match their intensity, and I thought we did that.”

Norfolk State was unable to get anything going on offense in the first half, totaling just 21 yards on 15 plays. The Spartans were only able to record 9 rushing yards and 12 passing yards. In comparison, Hampton totaled 259 yards on 46 plays in the first half.

The Pirates could have extended their lead from 16-0 with a field goal right before the break, but Csehoski missed a 38-yard attempt.

Hampton’s dominance continued into the second half, but Norfolk State was finally able to score to prevent a shutout.

The Pirates added two more rushing touchdowns in the third quarter to take a 30-0 lead. Robinson scored first, bringing his touchdown total to two on the day. He finished third for the Pirates in rushing with 39 yards. Zellous scored second in the third quarter, also giving him two touchdowns in the game.

Zellous put on a clinic in the game. He was 20 for 25 through the air for 185 yards, with 60 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

“I’m so blessed to have all those guys outside that can take a hitch and take it to 40 and 30 yards and just make plays for me,” Zellous said. “Offensive line did a great job. … I thought just went out there and executed. Sharp focus and did a good job of preparing this week.”

Elijah Burris led the Pirates on the ground with 77 yards on 23 carries. Hampton finished with 227 yards on the ground and 466 total yards in the game.

“We just saw how (Norfolk State) liked to blitz on the A-gaps and we was just capitalized off that,” Burris said. “We were just switching up the running back rotation and giving them different styles so they wouldn’t get used to it.”

Norfolk State was finally able to get on the board midway through the fourth quarter. Jalen Daniels capped a 10-play, 82-yard drive by finding Jahee Blake for a 26-yard touchdown pass to make the score 30-7. Daniels finished 6 for 12 with 46 passing yards.

“Halftime was 16-0, you’re still in the ballgame,” Odums said. “Second half, we just couldn’t muster anything. Couldn’t get anything going. It was just a very, very tough day, and we got to figure it out from here.”

The Spartans punted on all but one of their nine drives. Norfolk State had four total three-and-outs.

Hampton rubbed some salt in Norfolk State’s wound late in the fourth quarter. The Pirates added another touchdown when Malcolm Mays found Christian Greenlaw for a 35-yard touchdown pass, making the score 37-7. Mays was 5 for 5 for 54 yards.

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

The game is important to players on both sides of the local rivalry, but it means more to the Hampton University wide receiver who started his college football career at Norfolk State and wants to finally show the Spartans “what they’re missing.”

Johnson has been with the Pirates since 2022. He was a Spartan from 2019 to 2021.

“I love this game, so every Saturday I’m definitely playing with my hair on fire,” Johnson said. “But this game is just … I’m gonna prove my worth. Show them what they’re missing.”

The former Nansemond River High standout is one of three players to play for Norfolk State and Hampton, based on data available on both schools’ respective athletics websites and football record books. He is the only player since the creation of the transfer portal in 2018 to have played for both schools.

“I definitely take a little pride in it because it wasn’t the easiest transition coming here,” Johnson said, “considering the fact that it is a very tough rival that people take seriously. So I definitely take pride in it, for sure.”

Defensive backs Harry Freeman and Marcus Woods are the two others to have played on both sides of the rivalry. Freeman was at Norfolk State from 2013 to 2016 and made the switch to Hampton in 2017. Woods was listed as a redshirt sophomore defensive back who transferred from Hampton to Norfolk State’s 2015 roster, but there is no other mention of him across either school’s website or all-time rosters in their respective football record books.

Johnson started his career with the Spartans as a walk-on running back and quickly found himself as a key part of the offense. During his freshman year, he led Norfolk State with 468 rushing yards, 959 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns. Those numbers earned him All-MEAC third-team honors.

His first Battle of the Bay appearance came in 2021, when he logged four carries for 27 yards in Norfolk State’s 47-44 overtime win.

After the 2021 season, Johnson decided to hop in the transfer portal, citing coaching and culture changes. He said wanting to change positions also led to his transfer.

“When I was running back, I was 160 pounds just playing (with) straight natural ability,” Johnson said. “So it was definitely tough on my body playing that position. It wasn’t a walk in the park at all. So I feel like that was one of the main reasons why I wanted to play wide receiver. Wide receiver is less stressful on your body. You get hit, this is football at the end of the day, but that was my main decision.”

Johnson played in eight games during his first year with the Pirates, ending with seven catches for 75 yards. Two of those catches, and 20 of those yards, came in Hampton’s 17-7 win over Norfolk State in the 2022 Battle of the Bay.

Last year, Johnson’s run with the Pirates remained minimal. He did not play in the Battle of the Bay and made appearances in just two games while logging two catches on the year.

Though the 2024 season is young, Johnson already has made an impact for Hampton. He has totaled five catches for 93 yards in two games and caught his first touchdown pass as a Pirate against Morgan State.

“I’ve definitely been waiting on my turn,” Johnson said. “I’ve definitely been patient … but it’s just a matter of fact of when my team needs me, and they need me now, so I’m here.”

Pirates interim head coach Trent Boykin said he is impressed with Johnson’s growth and maturity since he arrived at Hampton.

“At this point now, he’s one of us,” Boykin said. “He doesn’t have anything that carries over from being there anymore, and so just to see him mature in a way of — because he’s been here for a while for us now. So it’s not like he’s fresh over, and I’m pretty sure he’ll be excited about that game.”

Johnson said he appreciates his time at Norfolk State, calling it his “first home.” NSU coach Dawson Odums, who coached Johnson for one season, is no stranger to having to scout former players. Just last week, three former Spartans were on the opposing sideline in Norfolk State’s game against Virginia State. Odums said re-scouting former players like Johnson has become more normal in college football.

“You’re going to see that anytime you have open admissions, open enrollment for a portal, then you’re going to get some of that cross-recruiting,” Odums said. “So you’ll get former players that you’re going to see. … So it’s just you know vaguely what you can remember, and you try to draw from it, but it’s really evaluating where they are now, going from there. Looks like (Johnson) is a major part of what they’re doing on offense.”

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

Boykin and the Pirates have turned their attention to a matchup with their 757 rival, Norfolk State, in the Battle of the Bay. Though Boykin is new to being a head coach at Hampton, he’s been on its staff for the last four years and knows the importance of the game.

“It’s the team that’s on the other side of the water,” Boykin said. “A lot of guys have played against each other in high school. You’ve got guys that may have started out at one school and went to the other school. You’ve had coaches that have kind of been at both places. It’s a rivalry, we had a meeting today, and they talked about the 757 and what it means to be on this side of the water and get that victory. … The crowd is excited about it, the players, everybody in the community is already talking about it.”

Things are rolling on offense

Hampton’s offense found a groove against Virginia Union, just in time for the Battle of the Bay.

Star running back Elijah Burris, after being held to 43 rushing yards by Morgan State, ran the ball 35 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns against Virginia Union. Burris credited Hampton’s new-look offensive line for his success against the Panthers.

“It felt good just having the O-line and the offensive line coaches to help me out for real, help the team out,” Burris said. “They’ve just focused on getting on their techniques, working on their techniques, to get better every day. It’s showing off on the field.”

It appears Hampton will continue to evaluate the quarterback position week to week, basing the balance of game-day reps between Chris Zellous and Malcolm Mays on practice as well as defensive matchups.

Zellous got the bulk of the reps at quarterback against Virginia Union after Mays played more in the opener against Morgan State. Zellous was 14 for 25 through the air for 177 yards and added two scores on the ground, while Mays was 4 for 7 for 69 yards.

“It’s just really who had a good week in practice and then what dictates, as far as what they do defensively, what we feel may be a strong suit for us,” Boykin said. “Sometimes it may be one guy, sometimes it could be both. But for us, we feel confident about both guys, and teams that are playing us, they got to prepare to see both quarterbacks coming.”

Defense looking to earn respect

Hampton’s defense played a massive role in its win over Virginia Union. The Pirates were down 21-12 in the third quarter but blanked the Panthers for the remainder of the second half.

Virginia Union came into the game fresh off a 69-7 win over Kentucky State that saw the Panthers run for a whopping 379 yards and compile 674 yards of total offense. Hampton gave up just 131 rushing yards to Virginia Union.

“We were able to get them in situations where we could predict that now, hey, they’re going to have to throw the ball on these downs,” Boykin said. “So the fact that we got them to play, behind the chains, the fact that we got them to get into third-and-long situations, then you give our guys a chance to kind of pin their ears back and blitz, and do some things in week two that we didn’t do in week one, by applying pressure. So that gives our secondary guys a chance to ball-hawk the football.”

Graduate defensive back Jordan White finished with seven tackles against Virginia Union, tied for the second-best on the team. White also brought in an interception that led to the first of Hampton’s three unanswered touchdowns in the second half.

“It was just a lot of film preparation,” White said. “I saw a lot of things that they like to do off that glance route. So I just kind of envisioned that, you know, myself intercepting that pass. And then when that ball was thrown, I just went to go get it.”

While the scheme of this year’s defense is similar to last year’s, the feeling is different because the Pirates are taking the field looking to “earn respect,” White said.

“I feel really confident in our guys,” White said. “We got a whole, really kind of whole new D-line. We got a new DB corps really out there playing together, new linebacker corps. But we’re all coming together as a team, like it’s starting to feel like we’re flowing together. Communication-wise, we’re all flying to the ball, doing our job. So I got all faith in those guys.”

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

The 1-2 Spartans are feeling good after the win but have quickly shifted focus to another rivalry game this weekend, with Hampton making the trip across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel for the Battle of the Bay.

“You can’t wait till Saturday to be great,” Norfolk State coach Dawson Odums said Monday. “That’s our challenge this week. I always say to sustain winning, to duplicate winning, to repeat winning, is one of the hardest things in winning. And now can we take the next step in getting ready for Hampton this Saturday and doing those small things? I call it, do simple better. If we can do simple better, then we got a chance this week.”

Odums praised the Spartans’ defense during his weekly press conference Monday, specifically how Norfolk State has yet to allow a 100-yard rusher this season.

Through three games, the most rushing yards a single running back has accounted for against Norfolk State is 67. That number belongs to East Carolina running back London Montgomery, who did so on 14 carries for 4.8 yards per rush.

“Guys are really fitting and doing better, but we want to be dominant,” Odums said.

For context, last season Norfolk State allowed a 100-yard rusher in each of its first three games. The Spartans even allowed a 200-yard rusher in Virginia State’s Bailey Upton.

Norfolk State’s run defense has shown vast improvement early in 2024. In the first three games of 2023, Norfolk State allowed 830 combined rushing yards and 7.1 yards per carry.

So far this season, Norfolk State has allowed less than half that number.

The Spartans’ opponents have combined for 382 rushing yards this season, bringing the average yards per game down to 127.5 from 276.6 in the same amount of time last year.

“I think we’ve shown what we can do,” defensive back Ricky Harleston said. “We’ve always talked about what we were capable of, but actually doing it, I think that was big for us. I think we can take that into Hampton and (bring) that momentum.”

Odums said the improvements can be credited to a combination of scheme, personnel, and growth in communication and discipline.

“When you get 11 guys that do simple better, they got a chance to be successful,” Odums said. “We’re playing with better eyes; our eyes got to get better. Teams are going to always try to, especially on offense, manipulate your eyes. So eye discipline is critical to that — we’ve been pretty good with that. When we haven’t been, teams have made us pay for that. So just getting older and just having a good understanding of what we’re doing, guys have been in the system (for) two and three years. That allows us to have some continuity and some consistency.”

Harleston echoed the sentiment, saying the defensive improvements boil down to the players.

“Everybody on the field, they have a certain kind of passion,” Harleston said. “It’s like fire and we all want to win. We’re all hungry, we’re all flying to the football, and I think that’s big. From being here three years ago to now, we got dogs on the field all over.”

Norfolk State’s defense will face another tough test Saturday in Hampton running back Elijah Burris. The senior ran for 137 yards on 12 carries in the Battle of the Bay last year and is fresh off a 145-yard, two-touchdown performance against Virginia Union last week.

“He is a focal point,” Odums said of Burris. “He’s a very good football player, very talented. He has the ability to go the distance at any point in time, and they’ve been giving him the ball through the first two weeks. Just a dynamic football player that you definitely got to know where he’s at all times.”

Norfolk State also will have to look out for Hampton’s quarterbacks’ ability to factor into the run game. Both Chris Zellous and Malcolm Mays can run the ball efficiently and have done so already this season.

“Both of them can throw the ball, both of them can run the ball, and we’ve seen them in the past,” Odums said. “So I really think both of those guys are kind of ideal players. That’s one reason they probably play both, because as a coordinator, you don’t want to have two game plans. So the game plan doesn’t really change no matter which one is in the game.”

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

The Spartans’ victory is their first of the season and their first at home since late in the 2021 season.

“Winning is fun, no matter how you win,” head coach Dawson Odums said. “That’s the goal, that’s the objective at the end of every mission, to make sure that you come away 1-0. This is the first time in a while that we’ve been able to finish a fourth quarter and beat a football team. You can see the growth, and we gotta grow a little bit more if we’re going to continue to feel this kind of feeling. I’m happy for them, the assistant coaches, these players — they put in a lot of hours and time.”

Quarterback Jalen Daniels got the Spartans on the board on their first drive, thanks to a beautiful connection with wide receiver Jacquez Jones. Daniels found Jones on a slant route on third-and-long, and the speedy Jones took the ball 60 yards to the house. The score was the first passing TD of the season for Daniels and the Spartans. Jones finished with 109 yards on four catches.

“I’ve been watching film all week. Coach was saying the middle of the field was gonna be wide open,” Jones said. “So as Coach was calling the play, I can see them bring pressure up the middle, so I’m like, ‘JD, I know I’m getting this ball.’ As soon as I stuck my foot in the ground, the ball was there and I did the rest.”

Virginia State was able to tie the game right away with a score on the ensuing drive. Former Norfolk State wide receiver Kevin Gayles, covered head to toe by a Spartan defensive back, made a phenomenal grab in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown. Gayles’ catch capped a 12-play, 92-yard drive for Virginia State.

After forcing Norfolk State to go three plays and out, the Trojans jumped ahead 14-7 with a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Jimmyll Williams that capped an eight-play, 60-yard drive.

A little bit of luck helped Norfolk State tie the game at 14 on its next possession. Spartans running back X’Zavion Evans ran the ball up the middle, but had the ball punched out by a Virginia State defender. The fumbled ball flew forward and was kicked even farther by a Norfolk State player before it was eventually picked up and taken all the way to the red zone for a massive gain. A few plays later, Daniels waltzed in for a 11-yard touchdown run.

Norfolk State was able to add to its lead the next time its offense took the field. The Spartans strung together a crisp seven-play, 55-yard drive that was capped by a 22-yard touchdown catch by Kam’Ryn Thomas.

The score put Norfolk State ahead 21-14, and it remained that way heading into halftime after the Spartans missed a 45-yard field goal on their final offensive drive of the first half.

There wasn’t much offense in the third quarter, but the defense was plentiful on both sides. The first three drives of the third quarter ended in turnovers — Norfolk State fumbled the ball, Virginia State threw an interception and then Norfolk State threw another interception.

“I told them before the game, offense has (the) defense back, defense has (the) offense back, special teams has all (our) back,” Odums said. “Whoever is out there, you can turn the game around, you just have to believe and execute. We have a lot of work to do to get better, but it feels a lot better coming in after you’ve won a football game. They’re gonna see the film and they’ll get better, which they’ve done every week.”

Only three points came from the three turnovers: a 28-yard field goal from the Trojans after Daniels’ interception. The field goal cut Norfolk State’s lead to 21-17.

Outside of the fumble and interception, Daniels had put together a solid performance. He finished 14 of 21 through the air for 210 yards and two touchdowns while adding 31 yards and a score on the ground.

“Not good enough,” Daniels said of his performance. “That third quarter, (offensive coordinator Jason Phillips) and I talk a lot about not inserting yourself into the play, because he’s a great OC. So I inserted myself a bit in that third quarter, made (the game) a bit closer than it had to be. But I got back to my roots fourth quarter and yeah, we got the win.”

Oscar Smith High product Kevon King extended Norfolk State’s lead to two scores on the ensuing drive with a 64-yard rushing touchdown. King finished the game with a team-high 137 yards on 20 carries. As a team, Norfolk State finished with 257 rushing yards.

Both teams swapped punts on the next two drives, but Virginia State was able to cut into the lead, thanks to a touchdown from quarterback Romelo Williams with just more than five minutes remaining in the game. Williams finished 14 for 20 through the air for 171 yards and a touchdown.

The Trojans attempted to go for two, but failed, leaving Norfolk State with a 28-23 lead. The Spartans were eventually able to ice the game with a few clutch third-down conversions on their final drive.

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

The Pirates have been “blessed” with two starting-caliber quarterbacks.

Malcolm Mays and Chris Zellous are still fighting to earn the permanent starting job for the Pirates. Zellous, the incumbent starter, was the first quarterback under center in Hampton’s opener against Morgan State but swapped back and forth with Mays, the 2022 starter, for the first half.

Interim head coach Trent Boykin said the plan was to let both quarterbacks play in the opener and then eventually ride with whoever got the hot hand.

“When we came in, we said, ‘Hey, Chris took two (drives), Malcolm took one,’” Boykin said. “Chris took two again, Malcolm took one, and we felt like that was going to get us right about to halftime. Six possessions takes you about right to halftime and then kind of see where we’re at that point. Malcolm took us down and we scored right there before the half, so he kind of had the hot hand.”

Mays finished 13 for 17 with 168 passing yards and two touchdowns along with a team-leading 63 yards on the ground, while Zellous was 6 for 9 through the air for 48 yards and an interception.

The sample size is small, but Mays made the most of his time on the field against Morgan State. His Pro Football Focus offense grade of 84.2 was a team-high for the Pirates and was the highest of any quarterback in the Coastal Athletic Association who logged at least 15 dropbacks. His run grade of 78 was also a team-high and No. 2 for quarterbacks in the CAA last week.

“I was confident, whether me or Chris was in there, that we had a good game plan,” Mays said after the game. “(Quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Joe Dailey) has been coaching us hard, making sure that whoever was in there had an opportunity to go out there and be successful. So just sticking to the game plan, understanding what our job is, each and every player, just doing our job, not trying to do anything more than that.”

Some fans on social media were quick to assume Mays would be the guy going forward, but it appeared Boykin’s mind still isn’t quite made up when speaking with The Pilot on Wednesday.

“This week, I don’t know what we’re going to do as far as that,” Boykin said of his quarterback plan. “But we always have a plan for both quarterbacks, because, like I said, we feel blessed we’ve got two starting quarterbacks back. We’ll have some type of plan ready for this week.”

There is some tactical advantage to alternating between two quarterbacks. Boykin recalled a year ago when Hampton’s own defense was “all up in arms” while game-planning for William & Mary when the Tribe played two quarterbacks.

Boykin said people assume that Zellous is the better runner and Mays is the better passer, but the quarterbacks have similar skill sets and are good at both. This makes it harder for opposing defenses to properly scout Hampton.

“Everybody’s mind is, Malcolm’s a passing guy — but he ran for 63 yards,” Boykin said. “Chris is a running guy — but Chris can also throw the ball. So you can’t just come in and say, ‘Hey, this guy, we got to stop Malcolm because he’s a passer,’ because he ran for 63 yards. Chris is throwing the ball way better, (with) a lot more accuracy, so you can’t go in and say, ‘Hey, we’re just going to stop him on running the football,’ because he can throw for 200 yards.”

It appears that Boykin and his staff will use this week’s game against Virginia Union as another opportunity to evaluate the two quarterbacks. Regardless of what Boykin ultimately decides to do, it seems he’s not in a rush to select a starter and is comfortable with playing both Mays and Zellous for as long as he needs to.

“I haven’t really etched in stone what I want to do yet,” Boykin said. “I know there’ve been programs that have played two quarterbacks the whole year. If it comes down to that, then so be it. If someone really emerges himself in the next couple weeks, then that may be the scenario also. So I’m really, pretty much doors open for kind of what’s going to be the best fit for us.”

Some might assume switching between quarterbacks might mess up the rhythm of Hampton’s offense, but wide receiver Kevin Johnson made it clear after the Morgan State game that’s not the case.

“The offense is gonna flow regardless,” Johnson said. “We step on that field, we’re gonna play ball, so it doesn’t really matter who is out there.”

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

Sure, Norfolk State is 0-2 and Hampton is 0-1, but there have been flashes for both teams that show they can get back on track — especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Hampton

The Pirates lost their opener to Morgan State 30-28 last weekend, but Boykin was still impressed with how the defense played.

“They flew around,” Boykin said Wednesday. “They played with some confidence. They knew certain calls or certain blitzes, they knew what they were doing, they were executing exactly where they were supposed to be.”

Hampton gave up 244 rushing yards, but Morgan State ran the ball 55 times. Despite that, Hampton’s highest team defensive grade for the game came on run defense, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Pirates’ defense wound up with a 70.4 grade against the run. Boykin said the defense did a good job of being “gap-sound,” which will be important Saturday against a Virginia Union team that ran for 379 yards in its season-opening win against Kentucky State.

Hampton’s defense kept showing up in big ways against Morgan State and kept the Pirates in the game. The Pirates did struggle with getting off the field on third down, including allowing two conversions on third-and-long that allowed Morgan State to ice the game, but Boykin said those things are correctable.

“We had some breakdowns on third-and-long (and have) some adjustment things that we got to do to fix, which is fine,” Boykin said. “But I just like the fact that they played hard, they flew around, they tackled pretty well. There were some missed tackles, but for the most part, guys were flying around. You could tell they were playing with confidence, like they understood and knew the defensive game plan.”

Norfolk State

Norfolk State might have received a 42-3 beatdown from FBS East Carolina last week, but there were still bright spots for the Spartans’ defense.

The Spartans forced six turnovers — three interceptions and three fumbles — in the loss. Forcing that many turnovers is impressive, but doing it against an FBS team makes it even more impressive. Defensive lineman Keshawn Lynch said it provides a boost for the defense, and he’s confident the results will be translated throughout the season.

Odums said there was an emphasis on winning the turnover battle during fall camp. While the offense didn’t match the defense against ECU, if Norfolk State can continue that trend, it will be in a good spot to win.

“Guys were in position and that’s the biggest thing,” Odums said. “Once you see them in position, now as a coaching staff, we just have to keep them in position because we got guys that can make some plays.”

Defensive back Terron Mallory came up with two interceptions against ECU, earning him an HBCU Defensive Back of the Week nod by the Jim Thorpe Awards on Wednesday. Mallory led the MEAC in interceptions last year and, after a rough game against Florida A&M, said his performance against ECU was a good confidence-booster.

“My coaches keep confidence in me,” Mallory said. “I made a mistake last week. I harped on it, but they didn’t let me harp on it too long. They gave me a second chance to go out there and make a play, and that’s what I did.”

Odums said Mallory’s improved play is indicative of the Norfolk State defense as a whole.

“That’s what you look forward to, is watching these guys grow week to week and just put bad games behind them, bad plays behind them, and continue to move forward,” Odums said.

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

The Gold Standard Collective will be the official NIL Collective for Norfolk State, according to a press release. The collective is powered by Student Athlete NIL (SANIL).

“The unveiling of the Gold Standard Collective marks a monumental breakthrough for our university and our student-athletes,” Norfolk State athletic director Melody Webb said in a release. “Through the help of SANIL’s innovative approach to the world of NIL, Norfolk State student-athletes will now boast a significant advantage in establishing and maintaining a personal brand.”

The Gold Standard Collective will help Norfolk State athletes find tools and resources to promote and maximize their personal brand. Through the collective, athletes will have “increased access” to communicate with local and national businesses.

The press release stated that SANIL is not “officially affiliated” with Norfolk State Athletics, but it “operates transparently” and is complicit with all NCAA, MEAC and state legislation on NIL.

“This is a great day in Sparta and we cannot say thank you enough to our wonderful donors,” Norfolk State football coach Dawson Odums said in a release. “They see the potential in our future stars, and we could not rise without them. The next level of achievement can not happen without you. Thank you for putting the U in NSU!”

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