The Kent State football program added another big-time talent on Monday, when Kentucky transfer Ardell Banks committed to the Flashes.
Banks is a 6-3, 190 wide receiver who redshirted last season at Kentucky. Banks is a former Massillon Tiger, and was a three star prospect coming out of high school as rated by ESPN, 247sports.com and Rivals.com.
Banks originally verballed to Toledo prior to his senior season and later had a top five of Kentucky, Cincinnati, Arizona State, Pittsburgh and Syracuse before deciding on the Wildcats of the SEC over Cincinnati.
At Kent State he comes home to play for Kenni Burns and joins the Kent GRIT family while joining a receiver room that is shaping up to be an impressive group of size, length and dynamic playmaking ability.
“Kent State welcomed me and my family with open arms and that’s a big thing to me,” Banks told Golden Flash Report on Monday. “Coach Burns has a vision with his G.R.I.T. tradition and I have full confidence this staff will be able to get me to the next level.”
Banks, rated at the #35 player in Ohio by Rivals.com had 43 catches for 791 yards and 12 house calls as a senior at tradition-rich Massillon. A track athlete as well, Banks ran 10.78 seconds in the 100 meter dash in high school.
Born in Cleveland, Banks didn’t start playing football until freshman year. At Kent State, he has a chance to be an instant impact player in the Mid-American Conference.
Banks joins a receiver room that features returning playmaker Chrishon McCray and Luke Floreia. But he also joins Michigan State transfer Sebastion Brown at 6-3, 220 pounds and Northwestern State/Rutgers transfer Stanley King at 6-6, 200 pounds, giving the Flashes some big time targets this fall.
MORGAN PROMOTED TO DC: As expected, Kent State promoted safeties coach Kody Morgan to Defensive Coordinator. The job came open recently when former DC Dave Duggan left to become the head coach at Jackson Academy in Mississippi closer to his family.
Before Kent State, Morgan coached at North Dakota State where he coached cornerbacks from 2018-21 and coached safeties and served as the special teams coordinator in 2022. Morgan was a part of four NCAA Division-I FCS titles with the Bison.
Morgan also spent time at The University of Wisconsin-Stout where he coached cornerbacks in 2014 and defensive line in 2015 and worked with the kick-off and punt coverage units. His coaching career began at the University of Mary as a graduate assistant in 2013.
Morgan was a four-year starting cornerback for Wisconsin-Stevens Point.