BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – New coaches and transfers will try to help improve the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s offense this fall, but there are still concerns for head coach Alonzo Hampton.
Last year, UAPB scored the second-fewest points per game in the SWAC and often struggled to sustain drives. Hampton said Tuesday at SWAC Media Day in Birmingham, Ala., he wants to change that this year.
“We’re trying to have an offense that’s fun,” Hampton said. “We’re trying to do something that makes people say, ‘I want to go watch them play on Saturday. I want to be in Pine Bluff. I want to be in Simmons Bank Field and see what they’re going to do on this Saturday.’ That’s what we’re doing.”
New offensive coordinator Tony Hull will lead that charge after helping manufacture a quick improvement in Grambling State’s offense last season.
Hull is one of several new offensive coaches on staff this year, and he is UAPB’s third offensive coordinator in the past three seasons. Senior wide receiver Daemon Dawkins has been on campus for each of them, so he is used to having new coaches each year. He said this transition has gone well.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“(We’re) spending time in the film room a lot with the new coaches, trying to see what they want, so we can perform to the best of our ability without thinking,” Dawkins said. “We feel like if we’re capable of knowing what we’re doing without thinking, we can play at a fast pace.”
Dawkins is UAPB’s leading returning receiver. He caught 24 passes for 199 yards last year. He is one of six returning wide receivers on the team, and Hampton brought in seven transfers to join them.
The Maryland native has been with UAPB since 2021 and is entering his final year with the Golden Lions. Hampton said Dawkins should have a big senior season.
“I expect him to have an all-conference year,” Hampton said. “We’re gonna get him the ball in space and let him use that speed. Obviously for him, and he’ll admit that, he’s got to be able to stay healthy. With God’s will, man, he’ll do that, and I could see a guy like him catching 50-60 balls in the offense that we’re running.”
Hampton said Dawkins shouldn’t feel any pressure to excel because of how many other players will surround him. But for Dawkins and the other skill position players to succeed, someone must get them the ball.
UAPB cycled between three quarterbacks while searching for someone who could lead the offense. Two of those left via the transfer portal, but Mekhi Hagens remains. He competed with junior college transfer DJ Stevenson during spring practice and will be joined by Pine Bluff High School graduate Landon Holcomb and Huntington College (Ala.) transfer Dorian Smith in the fall.
Hampton declined to name a starter Tuesday, but Hagens was the one quarterback he mentioned by name several times. Last year, Hagens completed 53 of 117 passes for 580 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions.
“Mekhi has to do a better job,” Hampton said. “He’s done a better job this summer of taking ownership. That position as a quarterback, it makes you a leader whether you want to be a leader or not. He’s been getting the guys together some on the weekends, so that says a lot about him, and it’s time for him to take the next step, as well.”
One concern Hampton said he still has is on the offensive line. Senior tackle Christon Love is UAPB’s only returning starter.
Three walk-ons played in the spring game in April. UAPB is bringing in a mixture of transfers and high school recruits to fill the gaps, but Hampton said UAPB hasn’t been able to bring in as many as he wanted.
“We addressed a lot of it, but at the end of the day, that’s a position that everybody needs, and for whatever reason, we just haven’t been able to get the amount of guys that we want,” Hampton said. “But again, we gotta be creative enough to get the ball out quick enough that we don’t put too much pressure on them.”