When he was head football coach at Mississippi State, Dan Mullen had an offensive lineman named Elgton Jenkins.
He is now with the Cleveland Browns and also played for the Green Bay Packers. He’s a two-time All-Pro selection.
He has also played all five positions across the line in the NFL at one point or another.
“He played multiple positions for us and ended his (college) career at center his senior year,” said Mullen, entering his second season as UNLV’s coach. “As a leader, to show you can not only play tackle and guard, but can run the whole show at center — that’s a huge deal.”
It’s a path also being followed by UNLV senior Austin Boyd.
The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder, a preseason All-Mountain West selection, will move to center this season.
He played left guard as a freshman.
He played right guard as a sophomore.
He played right tackle last season.
He’s been everywhere and it has every chance to aid his future NFL dreams.
The same page
“I think my collection of playing all positions over the last couple years has really helped me and my knowledge to now play center,” Boyd said. “I have to get everyone on the same page. I try to pride myself on knowing what everyone is doing, anyways. I now have to make the points, make the front calls, see the IDs. Just that experience helps now.”
Boyd said he has watched every UNLV game from last season, watched how center Reid Williams ran things up front, how the former FCS Rimington Award winner as the nation’s best center before transferring to the Rebels handled himself as a leader.
How he dealt with different fronts, different movements, different bodies.
“(Williams) has been a big mentor for me switching to center,” Boyd said. “He was a really quick processor of things. I try to model my game after his because he did really well for us last year.”
Mullen first points to Boyd’s buy-in to the program, which says a lot for a returning starter who had his share of calls and offers from others once the transfer portal opened.
How the player never flinched when the coach mentioned another change of position.
“We could say, ‘Hey, we’re thinking about moving you to center,’” Mullen said. “And he could have said, ‘Well, I’m thinking about moving to the transfer portal.’ But his maturity at looking at things and how it could help him in his long-term future is a pretty special deal.
“His growth and development and buy-in says a lot about him. He’s helping the team and at the same time himself. You have to be smart at center, you have to know the offense, you have to be a leader. You’re the apex of the offense, right? It all shows his versatility.”
Boyd said this is one of the closest offensive line units he has been part of at UNLV, that the collection of large humans have a tight bond that was developed off the field as much as on it.
That this current UNLV side is closer this year than last, which helps build trust and a connection that will pay dividends when relying on each other come Saturdays in the fall.
Beware the Bison
It’s a new-look Mountain West, with North Dakota State, Northern Illinois and Texas-El Paso coming aboard for football. A new-look conference in the biggest sport that UNLV is expected to challenge for a championship.
“I’m excited to play against all the new teams from different parts of the country,” Boyd said. “North Dakota State has had great (FCS) success in the past. It will be exciting playing them and everyone else on the schedule.”
So this is it, another change of position and by far the most important yet. You don’t get more pressure up front than being the one in charge.
“(Boyd) just loves being part of this program,” Mullen said. “Not everybody has the maturity to do these kinds of things.”
Not everybody has the talent, either.
Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
