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Elon adds Akeem Dent and Chris Schultz to football staff

Elon adds Akeem Dent and Chris Schultz to football staff


Tony Trisciani



Football


by Jason Knavel, Associate AD for Strategic Communications






Elon, NC – Elon University Football Head Coach Tony Trisciani has announced the hiring of Akeem Dent as assistant defensive line coach and Chris Schultz as assistant offensive and special teams coach.

“We are excited to add Akeem and Chris to our staff,” Trisciani said. “They bring high-level NFL and college experience and have been heavily involved in special teams. Akeem will focus on assisting our defensive line and special teams, while Chris will assist our offensive line and special teams. Both will also be heavily involved in our opponent and self-scout analysis.”

AKEEM DENT

Akeem Dent comes to Elon with six years of experience on college and NFL coaching staffs, following a six-year NFL career.

Dent, a second-team All-SEC player at Georgia, was drafted in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. That year, he earned a PFWA All-Rookie Team selection and followed that up by starting 13 games and recording a career-best 65 tackles in 2012. Following the 2013 season, he joined the Houston Texans for three seasons. In total, Dent has played in 90 career NFL games, starting 32, and has recorded 203 career tackles.

Dent began his coaching career in 2018 as an intern at Colorado State, where he assisted the linebackers, analyzed film, planned practices and directed scout team looks.

Following his time at Colorado State, he spent three years as a defensive assistant with the Houston Texans, working with the inside and outside linebackers and the defensive line. In May 2022, he worked with the inside linebackers at Green Bay through the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellowship. Since then, he has spent time with the Seattle Seahawks (inside linebackers and special teams) and the Carolina Panthers (defensive line) through the Bill Walsh Fellowship.

Dent earned his bachelor’s degree in 2010 from Georgia, majoring in housing and consumer economics. In his final season with the Bulldogs, he ranked second in the SEC with 126 tackles and added 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

Dent is married to Dana and the couple have three daughters: Emerald, Ivy and Capri.

CHRIS SCHULTZ

Chris Schultz brings 10 years of college coaching experience to Elon, most recently as defensive line coach at Walsh University in 2023. The team averages 2.09 sacks per game and is ranked in the nation’s top 25 in red zone defense.

In 2022, Schultz was the special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at Savannah State, where he coached an all-conference defensive end and the SIAC Returner of the Year. His punt and kick defense units both ranked among the top 15 in the nation in yards allowed.

Schultz served as North Carolina Central’s special teams coordinator from 2016-19, helping lead the program to the 2016 MEAC championship and developing the No. 4 FCS punt return unit in the nation, averaging 21 yards per return. He coached four all-conference kickers, a preseason All-American kicker and a preseason All-American long snapper.

Schultz also has experience at Florida International (special teams quality control in 2015), Catawba (outside linebackers coach in 2014), Kentucky Christian (running backs coach in 2013) and Bluefield (defensive line, outside linebackers and strength and conditioning in 2012). He was a student assistant at his alma mater, North Carolina, in 2010 and 2011.

Schultz, a 2012 graduate of North Carolina, holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science. He is married to Valerie and the couple have two children, Benjamin and Maggie.

–ELON–