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Boulware gears up as first-time head coach

By Matt Parmesano

On April 30, 2014

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Boulware. WSSU

Winston-Salem State has a new head football coach, and his name is Kienus Boulware.

Boulware is no stranger to the program after spending the past four seasons as defensive coordinator under former head coach Connell Maynor, who left to take the head-coaching job at Hampton University in December 2013.

Maynor had tremendous success during his time at WSSU, leading the Rams to an impressive 45-6 record over his tenure, including two CIAA championships and three NCAA Division II playoff appearances. Maynor's best season came in 2012, when the Rams made it to the Division II National Championship game.

There's no question Maynor will be missed, but if anyone can carry on the success of the program and help fans and players move on from Maynor's departure, Boulware will be the man to do it.

Boulware, a native of Thomasville, N.C., has been around football his entire life. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill, where he played inside linebacker for two seasons before the discovery of a spinal cord abnormality that ended his career.

After graduating from UNC in 1997, Boulware decided to go into coaching and has been building great defenses ever since. His first coaching job was at Livingston College in Salisbury, where he coached linebackers for two seasons and helped lead the Blue Bears to a pair of CIAA championships. Following his term at Livingstone, he helped solidify the linebacking corps at North Carolina Central in Durham and coordinated the top defense in the nation at Shaw University in Raleigh in 2007 and 2008.

His first season at WSSU was in 2010 and he immediately turned the Rams defense into the top unit in the CIAA, a spot it has held the entire time he has been with the team. This past season, Boulware's defense was not only tops in the CIAA, but finished as the top-ranked defense in Division II.

As one can see, Boulware's focus is defense, and it has been throughout his coaching career. The only question is whether he can be successful as a head coach, a job which will require him to control the entire team; defense, offense and special teams.

Q: What does it mean to you to be the head football coach at Winston-Salem State?

Boulware: What it means is, I have the opportunity to lead a group of young men, help them become successful and teach them that there is life after football. I just want to make a difference. I have the opportunity to help a lot of young men get better in football as well as life.

Q: How will serving as the defensive coordinator for the previous four seasons help you transition into your new role as head coach?

Boulware: It'll lead to some advantages. I already know the personnel here, and I've already built relationships with most of the players. I also know where we need to improve, and I know which players we need to replace. It'll help me out with recruiting.

Q: Do you have any new signees that you're looking at to produce for you in the upcoming season?

Boulware: We're hoping for immediate impact from everybody we're looking to invest in. We don't have the funds to go out and sign guys based on potential. In theory, if we're spending our money wisely, we'd like everybody we've been going after to come in and make an immediate impact for us.

Q: Which returning players will you look to for leadership?

Boulware: As far as our defensive line, we have Duvontae Covington and Casey Davenport (seniors) back. Michael Bloomfield (redshirt junior) is back. Terry Ross (junior) should be able to step up and lead us at the linebacker position. On the offensive side, we have our quarterback Rudy Johnson (redshirt senior) returning, who won 10 games for us last year. We lost several key players and leaders from last year's team, so I'll be counting on these guys to lead because they've been there before.

Q: Phillip Sims (QB, redshirt junior and transfer from UVA) will be eligible to play this year. Will there be any competition between him and Rudy?

Boulware: I have no earthly idea how that situation will play out. There are many factors that will determine who goes out there as the starter, and part of that is determining which guy is the best fit for our team. We're looking to keep a lot of the same offensive system we've had in the past because the system we've had has obviously been good enough to help us on a national level. We'll just throw some twist and turns in there.

Q: What will be the biggest adjustment for you as you transition from defensive coordi-nator to head coach?

Boulware: The biggest adjustment will be the fact that, now all decisions will be left with me as opposed to Coach Maynor. Whether I end up being a good head coach will be determined through my ability to surround myself with other good coaches. In my search for assistants, I tried to target some of the best coaches we could afford, some of the best coaches we could find across the country.

Q: On a lighter note, do you have a favorite NFL team?

Boulware: I grew up a Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but as time went on, I started becoming a fan of individuals that I thought brought a lot to the game. Many of my favorite players are guys that I played with at Carolina, along with William Hayes (defensive end, St. Louis Rams), an alumnus of WSSU, who is currently still playing in the NFL. I always try to follow those types of guys.