Athlon Sports picks Flashes for 12th; McCray and Glass for First Team

Continuing with our tracking of the preseason magazine prognostications for the upcoming Kent State football season, we finally had a chance to check out the Athlon Sports preview.

Athlon picks the Flashes for 12th place in the MAC. They pick Miami to win the league and beat Toledo in the MAC Championship game. As Kent State opponents go, they pick Eastern Michigan for 6th, Ball State for 9th, Bowling Green for 4th, Western Michigan for 5th, Ohio for 8th, Miami for 1st, Akron for 11th and Buffalo for 10th.

Wide Receiver Chrishon McCray was selected for 1st Team All Conference along with place kicker Andrew Glass.

Toledo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green, Miami, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois are predicted to go bowling.

Kent State was ranked 8th in recruiting rankings, while McCray’s 67.8 receiving yards per game ranks number one in the league in returning receivers.

An opposing MAC Assistant Coach had this to say on the Flashes:

“There are a ton of questions here. Almost every school in the league has to deal with the portal, but the Sean Lewis era disappeared the moment he left. They had a move on offense at OC and a new DC, too, so it’s like another first year again. Kenni is a good coach, but when he took over they lost almost everyone on offense from a skill player perspective. They didn’t inherit any talent; it was like starting an expansion team. Their best DT just went to the portal, too. For them, it’s how are you going to simultaneously work to fill portal attrition and develop high school guys? It feels impossible.”

As for the final analysis, Athlon had this to say:

“Kent State extended Burns one year despite his 1-11 debut, showing a vote of confidence in his rebuilding effort. With 10 of the 11 losses by double digits, there is nowhere to go but up for a team that will travel to Pittsburgh, Penn State and Tennessee in the non-conference. How far up will the dependent on the offensive line’s development and whether the front seven on defense can make significant improvement.”