At 27 years old, Matt Adkins has already built a resume that includes helping transform Southern Oregon into an offensive powerhouse as an assistant and running his own show overseas to the tune of a Swedish national championship.
The Arcata, Calif., landed first at Shasta College, where he became an all-section quarterback before an injury prompted the start of his career as a quarterbacks coach, and in 2008 Shasta quarterback Will Camy led the state in passing efficiency. He began coaching tight ends at SOU in 2010, and, after attempting a comeback on the field for the Raiders in 2011, started coaching wide receivers in 2012.
Since joining the Raiders, he’s instructed four NAIA All-American receivers – Patrick Donahue, Cole McKenzie, Ryan Retzlaff and Dylan Young. In that time, SOU has rewritten every major receiving, scoring and yardage record, and in 2014 the Raiders totaled 52 receiving touchdowns and 5,745 receiving yards on their way to a 13-2 record and the program’s first NAIA title.
Adkins also served as the offensive coordinator in Europe for the Karlstad Crusaders of the Swedish Superserien league in 2013 and became the head coach a year later. The Crusaders won Swedish championships both years, and Adkins was named league coach of the year in 2014 when the team set a national record by averaging 58 points per game.
Adkins is also a founder of Dose of Dopeness Productions, which produced documentaries “Team of Firsts” and “Becoming” about the 2012 and ’14 SOU football teams.
His father, Doug Adkins, is a former head coach at Humboldt State University, and his grandfather, Tom Perry, is a former head coach at Central Washington University.