Football
KENT- The Kent GRIT era officially kicks off this Thursday night as the Golden Flashes travel to Orlando to take on the UCF Knights at FBC Mortgage Stadium, aka the Bounce House, for a 7 p.m. start.
A NEW ERA
The 2023 season marks the start of the Kenni Burns era at Kent State as he was named the 23rd head coach in program history last December. Burns comes to Kent after a successful run as running backs and assistant head coach under PJ Fleck at Minnesota. The Springfield, Illinois native also won three national titles at North Dakota State, where he coached wide receivers.
The new era also comes with a new quarterback under center. Purdue transfer Mike Alaimo earned the starting quarterback job out of camp. The New Jersey native appeared in three games for the Boilermakers, tossing a touchdown in the bowl game against LSU. He threw for 2,800 yards and 23 touchdowns in high school career for St. Joseph’s Regional.
Names to watch on offense include running backs Gavin Garcia and Xavier Williams. Garcia flashed during his time on the field as a freshman in both the run and the return game. Garcia averaged six yards a touch in 35 carries last year and had a long of 52 in kick returns. Williams has averaged over six yards per carry in his Flashes’ career including a career best 813 yards in 2021.
The receiving corps will see familiar names Luke Floriea and Trell Harris. Floriea has 17 receptions for 209 yards in 23 games at Kent State. Harris is the leading returning receiver from last year, recording 13 grabs for 136 yards as a freshman last year.
Defensively, the Flashes return starters CJ West on the defensive line, linebackers Khalib Johns and CJ Harris while the secondary has returners DJ Miller and Capone Blue. Newcomers Devin Nicholson (linebacker), Mattheus Carroll (defensive line) and Jalani Williams (safety) all earned starting roles during camp. Stephen Daley (defensive line), Oliver Billotte (defensive line) and Bryce Sheppert (safety) are all returners who will step into a starting role.
HELLO OLD FRIEND
Kent State and UCF have met four times previously between 1997 and 2004 when Central Florida was a member of the Mid-American Conference. The teams split the four meeting with Kent State winning the last two.
This iteration of the Knights are led by John Rhys Plumlee at quarterback. The Ole Miss transfer started all 13 games last year for UCF, throwing for 2586 yards and 14 touchdowns while adding another 862 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. RJ Harvey is the leading returning running back, he averaged nearly seven yards a touch and five touchdowns last year. Javon Baker and Kobe Hudson are the two leading returning receivers, both averaged over 14 yards per catch last year while averaging over 50 yards receiving per game.
Defensively, UCF lost their top two tacklers from last season. Walter Yates is the leading returning tackler, recording 54 stops including 1.5 sacks. Defensive linemen Ricky Barber and Josh Celiscar both recorded three sacks last season to lead all returners.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Thursday’s game will air nationally on Fox Sports 1 with Eric Collins and Devin Gardner on the call. Fans can also tune into the Kent State Radio Network with Rob Polinsky and Tom Evans on the call starting at 6:30 p.m. Fans can also follow @KentStFootball on social media for highlights and updates.
LOOKING AHEAD
Kent State stays on the road next weekend, heading to Fayetteville, Arkansas for a matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Kick time on Saturday, September 9th is set for 4 p.m. eastern.