Ulatowski and Kargman prepare for QB battle

At Media Day on July 19, Kent State Head Football Coach Kenni Burns indicated there would be an open quarterback competition between Tommy Ulatowski and Devin Kargman.

Ulatowski appeared in 10 games in 2023, starting three, before suffering a season ending injury in the second to last game. The 6-2, 181 pounder threw for 737 yards, 7 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. The product of St. Rita in Chicago, Ulatowski can be used as a dual threat in the quarterback run game as well. Ulatowski had several Division I baseball offers out of high school and was ready to head to Creighton to play on the diamond before he shifted gears to football and committed to Sean Lewis and Kent State. Ulatowski came off the bench at Buffalo and led the Flashes to a win in the final game of the Lewis era in the last game of the 2022 season.

Kargman has also has experience dating back to the Sean Lewis era. As the backup in the 2022 season, Kargman appeared in six games. Kargman got a huge start in the 2022 Wagon Wheel game, leading the Flashes to a victory, going 14-25 passing with 213 yards and two touchdowns. Kargman started the final game of the 2023 season against Northern Illinois.

“I think that’s the biggest questions is who’s going to be the trigger guy,” Burns told Rob Polinsky at MAC Media Day July 19.  “Tommy’s going into fall camp with the lead obviously.  I thought he had a good spring, not a great spring.  I think Devin Kargman is having a heck of a summer, a heck of a summer.  I think it’s going to be a great battle to see who runs away with it.”

Burns also discussed the quarterback position with ESPN’s Michael Reghi and Dustin Fox as part of the ESPN television coverage.

“The competition is growing great,” Burns told the veteran TV duo. “Tommy has started to find his voice in our offense.  He’s way more confident and comfortable in what we’re doing systematically.  I think Mark Carney, the new offensive coordinator fits him a little bit better when it comes to teaching and learning.  And then Dev Kargman, I’ll tell you what man, this kid…when I first got there he didn’t say two words now when I get to him in the room, he’s being a leader, he’s learned the offense.  He was out in the spring with a little bit of an injury and became more of a coach on the field and then this summer he’s looked really, really impressive so we’ll see those two duke it out and the biggest thing for me is that we’ve got competition there which is awesome.  Two guys that have played that are getting better.  They’ll look different when you see them this fall and it’s exciting for the program.”

Whoever is playing quarterback for the Flashes this fall figures to benefit from an offensive line that returns largely intact with some newcomers added for competition. Skill wise, the return of wide receivers Chrishon McCray and Luke Floreia to go along with expected two headed monster at running back with Ky Thomas and Gavin Garcia will greatly aid whoever wins the anticipated competition.