By John Agovino Aug 22, 2006, 14:00 GMT
OFFENSE: The good news for Kent State is that it can not get any worse than last season. The Golden Flashes' rushing attack was simply awful, but that weakness could be the strength of the offense here in '06. Redshirt freshman Eugene Jarvis and sophomore Tony Howard give the Golden Flashes a ton of speed and a solid one-two punch. Jarvis will most likely get the starting nod, but whether it is Jarvis or Howard the team will be much improved in the backfield. Michael Machen will be under center again for Kent State and hopefully he will have more protection than last season when he was sacked 33 times. With four of the five starting offensive linemen back, plus a solid ground game, Machen should have a much better season. Another reason to believe that Machen will have a more productive campaign is that the majority of his receiving corps in back, including Najah Pruden. Last year Pruden caught 33 passes for 688 yards and five scores. Marcus Hill and Cameron Bobb will also give Machen options down the field.
DEFENSE: The Golden Flashes should also see vast improvement on the defensive side of the ball as well, especially along the defensive front. Last year the Golden Flashes allowed an overwhelming 202.5 ypg on the ground, but that number should come down despite the loss of leading tackler Justin Parrish. Daniel Muir, who was moved from defensive tackle to defensive end, will be the anchor of the line. As for the linebacking group, the team will have to find a replacement for Jon Sessler. The corps is young and coach Martin is expected to start three sophomores, so look for the Golden Flashes to experience some growing pains throughout the season. While the defensive front is solid the best group on this Kent State defensive unit is the defensive backfield, which returns all four starters. Andre Kirkland who started the majority of last season at linebacker will be at free safety and Jack Williams who recorded four INTs in '05 will be back to shut down the top wideouts in the MAC. Overall this unit is vastly improved and should help the Golden Flashes vault up the standings this year in the MAC.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Golden Flashes will have to replace the all-time field goal kicker in school history in Travis Mayle, but coach Martin has high hopes for sophomore Reid Macko. Macko has the ability to turn into a solid kicker and playing a year under Mayle definitely helped. The return game will be handled by Jon Drager and Shawn Lewis. Lewis has explosive speed and was extremely dangerous last year as a freshman. The team will most likely have freshman Jake Kilroy as the punter, but that seems to be the only question mark for the special teams at the moment.
OUTLOOK: Last year was an abysmal display of football by the Golden Flashes, but there is no way there will be a repeat in '06. Kent State does have to face Miami-Ohio and Bowling Green on the road, not to mention a very tough Virginia Tech squad, but other than those matchups, the squad has a favorable schedule. Kent State probably will not contend for the MAC title, but expect to see a completely different team and a potential dark horse in the Mid-American Conference this fall.
© 2006 The Sports Network
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