Kent State Football: Position-by-position breakdown, Part II
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 head to the state of Washington for the first time in program history 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.
More:Kent State Football: Position-by-position breakdown, Part I
Keys to Success
After opening with the Huskies, the Flashes will visit perennial national powerhouse Oklahoma on Sept. 10. Then two weeks later Kent State travels to Athens to face defending CFP champion Georgia to complete the most difficult non-conference schedule in the nation.
What does fifth-year KSU head coach Sean Lewis believe is the key to a successful 2022 season, especially considering the strenuous September slate his team faces?
“The biggest thing is going to be the comradery of the ballclub,” said Lewis. “Right now we are a close-knit group, and we’ve got to stay that way as we go through the season. The connections, the strengths and the bonds of our football team are as strong as they have ever been. When you have a group that’s connected and can trust one another you know when the tests come and the real adversity hits, like I know we’re going to get on Saturday and as we continue to work through the season, we’re going to stay tied tight together.”
Position Breakdown
Lewis sat down following preseason camp to analyze his team’s depth chart. Here’s a position-by-position look at the 2022 Flashes broken into three parts, continuing with Part II featuring the wide receivers, tight ends and special teams.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Impact Players: Sophomore Dante Cephas (2021 stats: 82 catches for 1,240 yards, 9 TDs). Senior Ja’Shaun Poke (26 catches for 315 yards, 1 TD). Sophomore Devontez Walker (5 catches, 124 yards 1 TD). Grad student Isaac Vance
Cephas became the first Kent State player to reach 1,000 yards receiving since 1997 last season, earning First Team All-MAC honors. The Flashes possess several other talented wideouts who will have opportunities to bust out like Cephas did in 2021.
“Obviously Cephas has been doing it for some time and has been consistent, and he has continued to make strides,” said Lewis. “Poke has refined his abilities as a wide receiver since he came in as a defensive back. He’s an explosive down-the-field threat. Vance is steady, that safety net over the middle. He has a great feel for zone and man and where to sit and where to run, which is a quarterback’s best friend. (Walker) really came on, built some momentum late last year. He has really carried that over into this year with his daily habits, and had a really strong camp. We’re looking forward to him stepping up and carrying a larger share.”
Poke will be questionable during the first month of the season after having surgery last spring.
Depth: Grad student Ray James, sophomore Naran Buntin, freshman Trell Harris, junior Luke Floriea
Position Analysis: The Flashes seem to have plenty of firepower at the receiver spots to help first-year starting quarterback Collin Schlee be successful.
“They’re a talented group that’s played a lot of ball,” said Lewis.
TIGHT ENDS
Impact Players: Graduate students Kris Leach (7 catches for 93 yards, 2 TDs) and Keenan Orr, junior Hayden Junker (1 catch, 6 yards, 1 TD)
Depth: Freshman Justin Holmes
Position Analysis: “It starts with Kris Leach,” said Lewis. “He’s an exceptional blocker who really becomes an extension of the O-line when he’s in the game. He has done a tremendous job this offseason of really refining his pass-catching abilities. He’ll be more of a threat in that capacity this year.
“Keenan Orr and Hayden Junker each have a unique skill set. Keenan's more of that H-back/tight end type that we can flex out and do some different things with. Junker is your typical blue-collar, Northeast Ohio kid. He's an awesome kid. He will have a role.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Impact Players: Sophomore kicker Andrew Glass (21-of-28 field goals), sophomore punter Josh Smith (36.2 yards per punt), junior long snapper Brad George
Glass received a full scholarship last April after earning Third Team All-MAC honors as a true freshman walk-on in 2021.
"(Glass) was really thrust into a role last year where we may have thrown him into the fire a little bit sooner than he was ready for. But he’s done a great job embracing the things he needed to do in the offseason,” said Lewis. “His leg has gotten stronger. He’s got more pop on the ball. Josh has done a great job of refining some technique. Brad should be a guy who no one knows who he is at the end of the year, because he just does his job so consistently."
Position Analysis: While Glass was solid with field goals as a freshman, Kent State ranked 10th in the MAC in net punting and last in net kickoff yards last season with only six touchbacks – nine less than any other team in the conference. Glass is expected to handle the kickoff chores once again this season.
“Special teams needs to get back to being an advantage for us,” said Lewis. “Those legs, when they’re on, they’ve got a chance to be difference-makers. They've got a year of experience under their belt, now let’s go put foot to ball and flip the field when we need to.”
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: KSU football breakdown - wide receivers, tight ends, special teams
