In coach Kenni Burns’ first year as head coach of Kent State football, the team went 1-11.
Burns came from Minnesota, where he was the assistant head coach. He had to work through a sudden change of leadership in the new age of college sports, where the transfer portal runs rampant.
Burns now has had time to craft his team and get a full off-season of training with his players.
“Started our first practice and really excited for our guys as they put so much work into the last eight weeks of winter conditioning,” he said. “You can tell they are a year into the system now, not as much starting over.”
When asked about what positions Burns is excited for he spoke about the offensive and defensive line.
“Everybody kind of looked at me crazy when I didn’t go into the portal and get more O-linemen, but that’s because we have five guys coming back,” Burns said. “Also, on our defensive line, we have everybody back and just a lot of experience as well.”
Burns also pointed out his excitement for the battle for the quarterback position.
Junior quarterback Tommy Ulatowski returns after starting three games last season, while redshirt freshman JD Sherrod transferred from Troy.
“Tommy has grown a lot since his last game and gotten way better and JD has come in and been a good wingman for him,” Burns said. “Those two are really battling well at that QB position.”
Burns’ goal for the team during their spring practices is to get everyone all in.
“We said at the end of spring if we can have everyone all in, this program is moving in the right direction,” he said.
After having to add many players via the transfer portal last season, Burns believes he has a better understanding of his roster’s depth.
“I think last year, when the portal [opened], I think we were attempting to fill a roster. And that’s always hard when you’re taking guys just to fill the roster and fill the spots, and you’re not really getting to know [them]. Now, you don’t know what you really need in the program,” he said. “After going through it for a year, I think I got a good understanding of where my depth issues are.”
Burns also mentioned that he learned a lot from his first season as the head coach at Kent State.
“It all comes down to the standard. I think at times we stepped away from our standard to worry about the transfer portal,” Burns said. “You gotta keep your standard in place, and guys either have to come up to it or move on.”
Matt Franos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
