Kent State football season opener at Washington: Five talking points
Kent State opens the 2022 football season with the first of three stiff September tests on Saturday at Washington. While monumental challenges at Oklahoma and defending national champion Georgia loom, no one supporting the Blue and Gold is looking past an opener across the country that features plenty of intrigue.
While the Golden Flashes (7-7, 6-2 MAC) were champions last year, capturing their first Mid-American Conference East Division crown since 2012, the Huskies (4-8) suffered through their first losing season since 2009.
However, both teams enter the new season filled with hope and excitement.
The Flashes have finally found consistent success under fifth-year head coach Sean Lewis, who has led the program to three consecutive non-losing seasons for the first time since 1972-74. Meanwhile, Washington fans are fired up about the potential for a quick turnaround under new head coach Kalen DeBoer, who owns a 79-9 record and led Fresno State to a 9-3 mark last season.
“Coach DeBoer and his staff have been together. He and his offensive coordinator (Ryan Grubb) go way back,” said Lewis. Grubb actually started coaching under DeBoer at Sioux Falls in 2007. “They have a track record of success. They do what they do, and they do it really well. They have an attacking mindset. I think our two programs approach the game of football in very similar ways. They’re referring to their defense as ‘Death Row,’ and we’re the ‘Soul Collectors.’ So we’ve got Death Row and the Soul Collectors going after it this Saturday.”
Aside from the battle of defensive nicknames, here are five other talking points heading into Saturday’s season opener in Seattle.
Historical Matchup
Fifty years ago Kent State captured what remains its lone overall MAC championship. Coaching the Flashes during that historical 1972 campaign was Don James, who would leave Kent State after the 1974 season to become head coach at Washington. James wound up winning 150 games in 18 seasons as head coach of the Huskies, including the 1991 National Championship, on his way to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Saturday night, the two programs that are over 2,400 miles apart will meet for the first time.
“The football gods, they don’t miss,” said Lewis. “It's pretty cool all of these threads that are being tied together, that we get to start this historic season out there and the connection between our two universities. I’m looking forward to a really hard-fought ballgame. I know it’s going to be one where toughness and grit are going to persevere.”
Last season Lewis became the first Kent State head coach since James (1972-74) to lead the team to three consecutive non-losing seasons.
Lewis was asked by a media member covering Washington if he keeps any items honoring James in his office, and quickly pulled a book off his desk.
“This is a book that sits on my desk each and every single day. It's a book that I came across during the 2020 COVID period, ‘The Thursday Speeches’ with Coach James, written by a former Washington Husky,” said Lewis. “I think I've got more notes and more highlights in this book then a lot of the other coaching or leadership books that I've ever read.
“I’ve been pretty fortunate to be able to talk to the likes of (former Toledo and Missouri head coach Gary) Pinkel, who played under Coach James (at Kent State). Herb Page, our long-time golf coach here, was also a kicker under Coach James. His wisdom has withstood the test of time. Whenever I can get with someone who was able to rub up against him for any period of time, I try and soak up as much knowledge about Coach James as I can. The kids may change, the environments may change, but these kids need to be loved, they need to be cared for. Coach James had some real wisdom in that.”
Collin Schlee takes over KSU offense
After spending three years as the understudy of legendary Kent State quarterback Dustin Crum, the offense now belongs to Collin Schlee. And those who have watched Schlee in practice and limited game action over the past two years believe he’s ready.
Schlee (6-3, 213) certainly seems to have the size, arm strength and overall athleticism to pick up right where 2021 MAC MVP Crum left off.
“The kid’s been here, he’s been with us, he’s been training. This is what he came here for. I’m excited for him to get the opportunity,” said Lewis. “There will be some growing pains and some learning moments with Collin. That’s what it’s all about. He needs to go play. It’s not just him out there, and he knows that. It’s all of us together. I’m extremely confident that he’s going to (play) at a high level, and I know that no one's going to compete harder inside the white lines for his teammates than Collin come Saturday night.”
Huskies' 'Dynamic Duo' Kalen DeBoer & Michael Penix Jr.
Junior Michael Penix Jr. is a new quarterback to Washington, but he’s certainly not new to DeBoer.
DeBoer was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Indiana in 2019, when Penix busted out. He posted excellent numbers with the Hoosiers in both 2019 and 2020 (3,039 yards passing, 24 touchdowns, 8 interceptions) before struggling last season, which ultimately led to his reunion with DeBoer in Seattle.
“When Penix and Coach DeBoer were together at Indiana they were a pretty dynamic duo,” said Lewis. “(Penix) can hurt you in a lot of different ways. He’s got a talented arm. He reads coverages really well. He's an elite decision-maker. He does a really good job as a passer of not getting hung up on a primary (receiver), and working through the progression of his reads to find the open man. He’s played a lot of games, too. You just can’t put a price tag on experience, and he’s been on big stages in big moments with this staff that he’s working with now at Washington. He's going to stress us out in a lot of different ways. I know we’re up to the challenge.”
Jeremiah Johnson takes over KSU defense
Kent State hopes to rejuvenate its struggling defense under first-year coordinator Jeremiah Johnson. The long-time successful Northern Iowa defensive coordinator has switched up the Flashes' scheme, but perhaps more importantly given a long-struggling group of defenders a jolt of confidence by being constantly positive and energetic.
Lewis isn’t expecting instant miracles from a group that, while filled with experience, has tasted little success. Kent State has surrendered 35.2 points per game since Lewis took over in 2018.
“With the new defensive staff and the new faces that we had come in, we have to get the new defense up and running and get that to a place where we feel good about it,” said Lewis. “That will be a never-ending process of improvement. But I like what Coach Johnson has done with these guys. I like where we are.”
Trenches Will Tell the Tale
Lewis said he’ll get a good gauge of the game in the early going by watching both battles in the trenches.
A Kent State offensive line that features only two returning starters and will have two tackles making their respective first collegiate starts will square off against a loaded Huskies front that features 6-4, 239-pound junior edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui. On the flip side, an experienced yet undersized Flashes defensive front will butt heads with a mammoth Washington offensive line that averages 307 pounds and is anchored by two-time All-Pac-12 senior left tackle Jaxson Kirkland.
“Both fronts,” said Lewis, when asked about keys to the game. “The way that our defensive front measures up against their O-line and their tight ends, that battle of the line of scrimmage. Conversely, with the new pieces on our offensive line, how they settle into a hostile environment. Right now there’s a lot of buzz around their program. I’m expecting a nice crowd for a prime-time game. How we settle in and control those fronts and the line of scrimmage, that’s going to be pretty telling early on in this contest.”
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent State football season opener at Washington: Five talking points
