Kent State Football: Position-by-position breakdown, Part I
The defending Mid-American Conference East Division champion Kent State football team opens the 2022 season on Saturday at Washington. Kickoff from Husky Stadium in Seattle is set for 10:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on FS1. The team will depart for Washington on Thursday.
The Golden Flashes (7-7, 6-2 MAC in 2021) return four starters on offense, seven on defense, and all three specialists. Fifty lettermen are back overall, with 70% of last year’s rushing yardage and 60% of the receiving yards returning. They’ve also added 11 transfers, eight of whom appear on the preseason depth chart.
Kent State was picked to repeat as East Division champs in the annual preseason coaches poll, which was released earlier this week. The Flashes narrowly edged Miami, the team they beat by one point in overtime in the last game of the regular season to claim the 2021 East Division crown.
“I hope it makes our community, our university, our alumni proud,” said fifth-year KSU head coach Sean Lewis, who has led the program to three consecutive non-losing seasons for the first time since 1972-74. “That was something that I made a big deal of on the very first day on the job, that ultimately I wanted everyone who wore the Kent State colors, that was repping our brand no matter where they were around this world, they could be proud of our football team. I did some family traveling this summer and had my Kent State colors on, and people came up and there was a connection. They’re like, hey, you guys are good at football now. And I'm like, hell yeah, we are. There’s a sense of pride with that.
“But beyond that, [the preseason poll] means nothing. We’ve got to improve, got to compete and get better each day so we can sustain the momentum and the positive buzz around the program that we do have.”
Kent State announces Sam Allen, Isaac Vance and Antwaine Richardson as captains
On Monday Lewis announced the names of Kent State’s three 2022 team captains, voted in by the players: graduate student center Sam Allan, grad student wide receiver Isaac Vance and graduate student free safety Antwaine Richardson.
Allan joined the program in 2017 and had served as a backup for three years before entering the starting lineup early last season. Vance also joined the program in 2017 and has been a backup wide receiver and key special teams performer throughout his career. Richardson joined the Flashes as a transfer from Maryland in 2021, but suffered a season-ending injury in game two.
Position breakdown
Here’s a position-by-position look at the 2022 Flashes broken into three parts, starting with the quarterbacks, running backs and offensive line.
QUARTERBACKS
Impact Player: Collin Schlee (2021 stats: 10 games, 17-of-24 for 238 yards, 1 TD, 0 Ints, 20 carries for 127 yards, 3 TDs)
Schlee takes over the controls of Kent State’s explosive up-tempo offense after serving as the backup the past two seasons for star quarterback Dustin Crum, the 2021 MAC Most Valuable Player. Schlee has been an impact player during short playing stints and in practice, where he consistently wowed teammates while serving as Crum's understudy.
“Collin’s the guy,” said Lewis. “He’s been in the program three years now. He told me the other day he’s leaving [practice] because he’s doing his senior internship deal, and I was like, what? He’s a redshirt sophomore. That’s wild, but he’s so far ahead in the classroom. We’re excited and eager to help him go compete and be the best version of himself.”
Depth: Junior Griffin Brewster was expected to be the backup quarterback, but suffered a non-contact knee injury during preseason camp and will be out for the season. True freshman Devin Kargman and sophomore Chandler Galban, a junior college transfer who joined the program just before the start of preseason camp, will step into the backup roles.
Position Analysis: “We’ve got a veteran in Collin. But losing Griffin hurts because we don’t have the luxury that we had the last couple years where you have a stable guy who has been around as the backup,” said Lewis. “Beyond Collin we’re very green, and we’re going to have to help those kids in a big-time way if the ball ends up finding them.”
RUNNING BACKS
Impact Players: Junior Marquez Cooper (241 carries for 1,205 yards, 11 TDs). Grad student Xavier Williams (125 carries for 812 yards, 3 TDS). Senior Bryan Bradford (49 carries for 298 yards, 3 TDs)
“We’re looking for [Cooper] to carry the lion’s share of the work,” said Lewis. “He has continued to find ways to get better and better. I think he’s grown in his pass protection, done a great job. We've really limited the amount of contact that he’s had this camp. I know what he’s going to do when he’s live. I don’t need to see him get tackled. But he’s been better just in thud periods, making guys miss.”
Williams is still recovering from a broken hip suffered in the 2021 MAC championship game loss to Northern Illinois, and is considered questionable for the first two weeks of the 2022 season.
“He hasn’t done a whole lot [in practice], but he’s progressing,” said Lewis. “We know what we have in our No. 2. He can provide that lightning in the bottle and home run threat. Bryan Bradford’s been outstanding as the two or three. He is really heady, probably the best pass blocker out of all of them. He’s done a really good job of embracing who he is and the role that he has within the offense. When he’s in I can call the game like he’s the starter.”
Depth: Freshman Gavin Garcia, redshirt freshman Shakhi Carson, senior Daniel Bangura.
Position Analysis: The Flashes have an experienced and versatile running back group, headed by the stellar all-around Cooper along with the speedy Williams and the 250-pound hammer Bradford.
“They all have their unique strengths,” said Lewis. “We’re fortunate to be deep there.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
Impact Players: starters Sam Allan (grad student center), Jack Bailey (redshirt sophomore left guard), Elijah Ratliff (senior right guard), Marcellus Marshall (sophomore left tackle) and Savion Washington (junior right tackle).
Allan and Bailey are Kent State’s lone returning starters on the offensive line.
“Those five have been the most cohesive and consistent group through everything that we’ve been doing,” said Lewis. “When real adversity is coming, they need to see everything through the same set of eyes. That’s where having a guy like Sam, who has been with us from the beginning and has started a game for us in every spot, is so important. He's so good with his communication, he’s going to help elevate those guys.”
Depth: Junior Elijah Lamptey, junior Nolan Rumler (transfer from Michigan), junior Cameron Golden (transfer from Georgia State)
Position Analysis: “Offensively, it’s all going to hinge on how that offensive line settles in in front of Collin, and how Collin settles into his role as the starting quarterback,” said Lewis. “We're going to play and learn a lot about who we are, about what that front looks like, and what’s the best combination of those five as we continue to move forward. It’s not necessarily who are the five most talented guys individually, but who are the five guys that play best together when the lights come on.”
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent State football breakdown - quarterbacks, running backs, O-line
