Kent State quarterback Devin Kargman earned a lot of respect with his teammates, coaches and the fanbase Saturday after a tough performance Saturday at Pittsburgh in which the junior signal caller took big hit after big hit in the pocket, and bounced back up every time.
As we wrote yesterday, the team broke down film as a team on Sunday, so every guy on the roster saw the leadership traits Kargman exhibited by getting up time after time. Numbers wise, Kargman didn’t wow anyone by going 14-28 for 181 yards, two touchdowns and an interception but KSU needs him to lead, take what’s given to him and get the ball to the playmakers. Kent State Head Coach Kenni Burns was asked about Kargman Monday at his press conference.
“He had respect before from our offense, watching it as a team, I think they got even more respect for him, because he literally hung in there, he took some shots,” Burns said. ‘He never turned on his team. He never started complaining and moaning, just the next play. We’ll figure out what happened there, next play. That’s leadership, that’s why he’s the starter, the command, the presence that he has now. He never panicked. He came out at halftime and took us down the field and led us to a touchdown.”
As mentioned, Kargman needs to continue to take what is given to him. If teams are going to continue to load up to take Chrishon McCray with coverage tilted his way, Kargman will continue to read that. Part of the reason why Luke Floriea was so open on his touchdown reception is the way the Pitt defense loaded up on McCray. KSU needs Kargman to lead, take care of the ball and get the ball to the “dudes.” And it’s clear after one game the top dudes for the Flashes are McCray, Floriea and running back Ky Thomas.
After the game Burns was visibly upset and understandably so after his team didn’t finish and take advantage of the fact that Pitt was letting them back into the game, but he came away with at least one positive takeaway.
“I thought, if anything out of the game, there was a lot of negatives and i was down on a lot of things, the coaching, myself and our players but the one thing I’ll say is I was really proud of that kid,” Burns said. “He didn’t flinch. He’s like ‘we’re right back in this thing, let’s go’, he told the defense ‘give me the ball back’ and that’s the Devin that I know now. That’s the guy he is. He’s got to keep building off of it, battling, he’s in there watching tape trying to find ways to beat St. Francis and I’m very comfortable with that guy being the quarterback right now and I know he’s going to respond and be better. He knows he can play better and I think he’s going to respond and do what he needs to do this week.”
Like most teams, so much of Kent State’s efficiency or lack thereof has to do with situational football, down and distances and the ability to put themselves in favorable positions. The Flashes were 3/17 on third down conversions Saturday and Burns noted the average yards to pick up a first down on third down was 9.8 yards to go. The best way to give yourself a shot on third down is to do a better job on first and second down. It will be up to the Flashes coaching staff, and their entire offensive unit to do a better job and avoid those long third down pick ups. Getting the ball to dudes is ultimately up to the coaching staff, everyone executing, and Kargman to do his job. After one week, Kargman has the respect of the entire team with the leadership he displayed in week one.