They finished last in the FBS in scoring in 2023. But this year, they’re not starting from ground zero, and they hope the experience shows.
Only three years separated the two extremes.
The 2020 Kent State Golden Flashes offense ranked first in the country in points per game. The 2023 Kent State Golden Flashes offense ranked last in the country in points per game.
How did that slide down the mountain occur to that rapid of a degree? A multitude of factors contributed. In December 2023, head coach Sean Lewis, orchestrator of Kent State’s signature “Flash Fast” offense which consistently ranked among the nation’s elite, departed the program for a gig as Colorado’s offensive coordinator. Transfers followed, and the Golden Flashes were zapped of nearly all experience.
When they lined up in at UCF Week 1 of the 2023 season in Orlando, zero returning offensive starters took the field. Kent State assembled an entire offense of newcomers and 2022 reserves, and the lack of collegiate experience was evident. The Golden Flashes ranked 134th of 134 in scoring at 14.7 points per game. Only two programs accumulated fewer yardage per game than Kent State, and the team finished bottom 20 in both passing and rushing statistical measures.
The good news — there’s nowhere to go but upward. Kent State endured a similar climb up the mountain before. Three years before Lewis had them at No. 1 in points per game, they finished second-to-last in the category, so second-year head coach Kenni Burns hopes for a similar ascension at warp speed.
Burns promoted tight ends coach Mark Carney to offensive coordinator this year, replacing Matt Johnson who left in December to join Lewis’ staff at San Diego State. New wide receivers coach Clay Patterson, who arrives as an assistant from South Florida’s hyper-speed offense, is assigned co-offensive coordinator duties alongside Carney, hoping to replicate a similar offensive ascension to the one he facilitated in Tampa last season.
Quarterback
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Kent State will feature a new primary starter at the quarterback position in 2024. Michael Alaimo, who started the Golden Flashes’ first eight contests of 2023, entered the transfer portal this offseason which creates a likely two-person quarterback competition between two returning members on the roster, Tommy Ulatowski and Devin Kargman. Both are third-year players with starting experience, albeit to a limited degree.
Ulatowski started three of Kent State’s final four contests last year, leading the Golden Flashes to their most successful offensive stretch of the 2023 campaign. He set the team’s season-high in passing yards at 284 vs. Bowling Green and also became the only Kent State quarterback to notch three touchdowns in 2023 during the Wagon Wheel rivalry game vs. Akron.
Kargman earned one start last season, tying Kent State’s season-high in points at 27 in a 253-yard, 2-touchdown, 0-interception performance vs. Northern Illinois. That wasn’t his first go-around as QB1, as he earned a start vs. Akron in 2022. In that edition of the Wagon Wheel, Kargman fired for 213 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, becoming the only current Kent State quarterback to register an FBS victory.
Ulatowski’s career stats feature 839 yards on a 50.0 completion rate with eight touchdowns and two interceptions, while Kargman counters with 653 yards on a 45.0 completion rate with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Kent State hopes for a sharp increase in the accuracy department for both quarterbacks, but the good news is each has shown the ability to refrain from turnovers in their limited exposure as a starter.
When it comes to the rushing department, Ulatowski has a notable edge based on the sample sizes observed to date. His résumé features 110 rushing yards and a touchdown with a career-long scamper of 39 yards, while Kargman is more pocket-oriented with -56 rushing yards and a career-long scramble of three.
The Golden Flashes also introduced transfer JD Sherrod to the room this year. Sherrod hails from Troy, where he redshirted his freshman campaign with the reigning Sun Belt champions. Sherrod hasn’t fielded a snap since high school when ESPN ranked him as the No. 54 quarterback in the country. But despite the lack of on-field action, a successful showing in fall camp could catapult the redshirt freshman up the depth chart.
The other quarterbacks on the roster are sophomore Dru DeShields and true freshmen Joseph Federer and Jett Hilding. Kent State finished 12th-to-last in passing yards and 10th-to-last in completion percentage in 2023, so progress in the quarterback room is perhaps the most essential area of improvement the team seeks in 2024.
Running back
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Running the ball was Kent State’s M.O. in the Sean Lewis era, ranking top 25 in the country in rushing yards per game each year from 2020-22, including top three finishes in 2020 and 2021. That element took a significant turn in 2023 and the Golden Flashes wound up ranked 117th in the department. Kent State’s backfield saw just one 100-yard individual performance last year, and it occurred Week 3 against Central Connecticut of the FCS.
That feat was completed by returning starter Gavin Garcia, who showed tremendous improvement toward the end of the year, averaging at least 4.0 yards per carry in each of his final five outings. Garcia ranked first on the roster in rushing last year with 544 yards, topping it off with an 84-yard showing in a promising finale vs. Northern Illinois.
Garcia remains a likely starter in 2024 given his vast experience, but Kent State also needs to establish depth alongside the junior after the departure of Jaylen Thomas and Xavier Williams — the only other running backs to accumulate double-digit carries in 2023. That’s where Ky Thomas factors in. Thomas was a member of the 2023 roster, but he sat out due to eligibility rules as a second-time transfer. He burst onto the scene in 2021 as a freshman at Minnesota (with Burns serving as his running backs coach), tallying team-highs in rushing yards (824) and touchdowns (6) for a ground-oriented Golden Gophers team.
The only other running back in the room with FBS experience is Curtis Douglas, who tallied 39 yards on eight attempts last season. Other incumbent backs alongside Douglas include Marques Hicks and Preston Taylor, who still await their first collegiate snaps at the position. Finally, Noah Earley, Ayden Harris, and Cade Wolford make up the true freshman contingent of the running back room.
It is notable that Kent State’s offense, which involves a significant amount of RPOs, doesn’t utilize running backs heavily in the receiving game. Running backs accounted for just five receptions and 20 receiving yards in 2023, with Garcia — the team’s lead back — responsible for just one catch. Thus, the role of receivers and tight ends looms much larger in the passing attack for the Golden Flashes.
Wide receiver
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Kent State earned two offensive All-MAC selections last November, and both inhabit the wide receiver room, making this among the strongest position groups on the team.
Chrishon McCray qualified for First Team All-MAC honors, witnessing a breakout campaign which featured 610 yards and four touchdowns on 41 receptions. McCray’s breakout initiated with a 10-catch, 105-yard performance against eventual MAC champion Miami (OH) in late September and continued through the November Wagon Wheel rivalry game, where he pierced through Akron’s secondary to notch 161 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions. McCray’s dominance in that nationally televised midweek contest carried the Golden Flashes to a three-score lead over Akron, but he suffered a season-ending ankle injury in the fourth quarter which prematurely concluded his breakthrough year. Already rising on the national radar, McCray turned down offers from Big Ten and SEC programs this year to run back unfinished business with Kent State.
Luke Floriea was the Golden Flashes’ other all-conference selection, landing on the All-MAC Third Team after a season featuring 413 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 39 receptions. Floriea witnessed a late-season breakout in the three games McCray was sidelined, racking up nine receptions and 90+ yards during that brief November stretch. While McCray was more of Kent State’s deep threat option, Floriea proved to be a reliable short-yardage specialist, perfectly complementing the game of his fellow 5’10” receiver.
Trell Harris, Jameel Gardner, and Jack Coulson were the only other wide receivers on Kent State’s roster to record a reception in 2023, and none of the three remain rostered for 2024. Thus, finding other weapons alongside the talented combo of McCray and Floriea is another mission of the coaching staff in fall camp.
Kent State consulted the transfer portal for several receivers to fill these voids. The Golden Flashes landed Sebastian Brown from Michigan State, a fifth-year senior who saw his first six offensive snaps transpire last season. They also gained a smaller school prospect with substantial experience in Stanley King, who totaled 32 receptions and 437 yards at Northwestern State of the FCS.
It’s important to remember that McCray was a reserve who played sparingly and finished with zero receptions in 2022, right before his meteoric rise to First Team All-MAC status. Kent State fields a horde of incumbent receivers who are in the same shoes McCray wore last summer, with eyes set on taking the fast lane to stardom. These incumbent receivers without substantial experience on Kent State’s roster include Ali Fisher, J.B. Awolowo, Dash Dorsey, Jahzae Kimbrough, Jared Kelley, and Ardell Banks. Meanwhile, the true freshmen rounding out the group are Jay Jay Etheridge, Wayne Harris, Garrett Dial, and Preston Hopperton.
Tight end
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Unlike the receiver position, Kent State does not enjoy the same continuity atop the tight end depth chart. Justin Holmes, the primary starter from 2023, transferred to Marshall this season, taking 20 receptions of experience away from the unit. But sixth-year senior Hayden Junker — the only other tight end to appear on the stat sheet last year — remains a member of the Golden Flashes after his most productive season to date. Junker caught three passes including his first career touchdown against Bowling Green in midweek MACtion last November. With blocking as his primary focus, he was a fixture in the lineup with 11 games played, and his role should expand heading into this fall.
Kent State also received considerable support at tight end from the transfer portal, although there isn’t substantial experience among these newcomers. Charlie Skehan played under Kent State alum Nick Saban at Alabama as a walk-on, making two appearances in four seasons with the Crimson Tide. Conner Muldowney arrives from Division II Tiffin where he logged five receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown in 2023. Hunter Hopperton, the older brother of true freshman receiver Preston Hopperton, rekindles his connection with his home state of Ohio after a stint with Rhode Island of the FCS.
The most experienced of the bunch is Aaron Hopkins, an Oberlin, OH native who hails from Edinboro College. While in the Division II ranks, he captured 48 receptions for 271 yards and two touchdowns across the past two seasons, hoping his on-field exposure at that level can pay dividends at Kent State.
Elsewhere in the room, Peyton Faulkner and Mohammed Hazime return to the roster, hoping to witness their first on-field reps, while Dakota Taylor arrives as a true freshman.
Offensive line
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What was once a weakness can quickly turn into a strength.
Kent State’s offensive line trotted into the 2023 season with about as little experience as possible. In Week 1, the Golden Flashes’ front five combined for just two career starts, both belonging to Jimto Obidewgu during his stint at Temple.
The other four linemen made their first career starts that August night in Orlando, and two of those four — center Andrew Page (a true freshman at the time) and guard Dustyn Morell — logged their first career snaps simultaneously to making their first starts. To summarize, there was a severe lack of experience at the position group which typically requires the most wisdom and maturity in college football.
The results showed in the form of miscommunication and missed blocks, and the Golden Flashes’ offense saw the 10th-most sacks yielded in college football and the 7th-most tackles for loss allowed at 3.4 and 7.7 per game, respectively. As mentioned earlier, Kent State finished uncharacteristically low in the rushing department with 106 yards per game courtesy of the ground, and revamping the offensive line certainly played a factor.
What’s fortunate for Kent State is the amount of experience it carries into next season. This unit could turn into one of the team’s strengths considering the continuity and built-up chemistry developed over the past 12 months. Four of the five primary starters — Obidegwu at left tackle, Morell at left guard, Page at center, and Cam Golden at right tackle — all return to the roster and are expected to hold their starting roles from 2023. Only right guard Nolan Rumler exits the main five from last season, so Kent State must find a new candidate to occupy that spot.
One first-year transfer Kent State added to bolster offensive line depth is Nikolai Bujnowski, who could enter the mix for that starting position. Bujnowski was a constant on Boise State’s special teams unit in 2023, appearing in all 14 games for the Mountain West champion Broncos. Prior to Boise State, Bujnowski spent time at Virginia Tech, and the Academic All-Mountain West honoree is set to suit up for a third different roster in three years.
Other potential options for Rumler’s former interior spot include returning roster members Chris Farrell, Tristen Bittner, and Kevin Toth. Farrell was originally recruited by Kent State while Bittner and Toth previously arrived as transfers from Marshall and Rutgers, respectively — although they were present for year one of the Burns era. Other incumbent linemen include Braylon Smith, Cecil Wilson, and Garrett Masterson, and the true freshmen consist of Jaxson Dunn, Tony Georges, and Elijah Williams.
This unit represents the x-factor of Kent State football in 2023. Games are won in the trenches, and how much improvement the Golden Flashes’ offensive line demonstrates in 2024 ultimately dictates results. Kent State finished dead last in points per game a year ago, but with improved chemistry and continuity in the offensive line, everything can fall into place, and the scoring opportunities can be more plentiful in 2024.