Paul Haynes was standing near midfield, arms folded with a whistle hanging from his neck, watching intently.

The Flashes’ new head football coach was focused on a group of defensive backs gathered in an individual drill 20 yards away during a sunny, morning practice at Dix Stadium.

“Go get it,” Haynes barked to his players. “You’ve got to go up and get it.”

Haynes was instructing his players on how to attack a pass as a defender. As a former standout safety at Kent State, he’s well aware of what it takes to succeed as a defensive back in the Mid-American Conference.

In his first preseason camp as head coach at his alma mater, he aims to prepare his Flashes for a season bearing unusual expectations.

The Flashes enter 2013 after a historic 2012 campaign in which they finished 11-3, won the MAC East Division and reached their first bowl game in 40 years.

But Haynes spent last season more than 800 miles away as defensive coordinator at Arkansas, and with 2012 now in the past and former head coach Darrell Hazell roaming the sidelines at Purdue, Haynes is presented with the challenge of repeating success in his first season at the helm.

Haynes said he wants to make sure his players understand what he wants from them on every down: intense, passionate play.

Despite the eventual drag of preseason camp, lulls in energy are not acceptable to Haynes. This was clear during a red-zone drill in a mid-week practice, when quarterback David Fisher rolled out to the right and found tight end Tim Erjavec in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The only one showing excitement with Erjavec was an assistant coach, who leaped into the fullback’s arms. That didn’t sit well with Haynes.

“Everyone,” his voice cracked as he shouted, putting an arm around Erjavec and returning him to the spot of his touchdown reception. “Get over here and celebrate.”

The entire offense ran over to Erjavec and embraced him in congratulations for his play.

“We get in practice mode, and when you score a touchdown, that’s a big deal,” Haynes later explained. “You’ve got one guy going over to him and celebrating. That’s not a team atmosphere, and I made a point about it.

“You’ve got to play this game with a lot of passion and excitement. You can’t just go through the motions. … A guy just scored and it was like, ‘Oh, it’s just in practice.’ That’s bull. How you practice is how you play.”

Offensively, the coach wants to make sure his team is not only physically prepared for a grueling 12-game regular season schedule but also conditioned for potential 13th and 14th games.

For Haynes, that starts on the ground.

“You gotta be tough,” Haynes said. “You gotta be able to run the football. That’s the one thing that we have done a lot of in this camp. Every team that has ever won has been able to run the football, so those are the things we’re stressing.”

Senior receiver Tyshon Goode, who missed the 2012 season with a hamstring injury, noticed the change in practice.

Camp is “definitely more physical,” Goode said. The coaches “want to see guys go out there and get after it a little bit, which I think is all right. We need that.”

Fortunately for Haynes, the Flashes return with two running backs, who combined to rush for 30 touchdowns and more than 2,800 yards in 2012.

Trayion Durham, the Flashes’ bullish runner, shouldered the bulk of the load on the ground, carrying the ball 276 times for a 4.8 yards per-carry average. Despite Durham’s outstanding statistics, it is the Flashes’ other back who drew national attention and, just recently, his own Heisman Trophy campaign.

Dri Archer, the Flashes’ speedster, averaged 9.0 yards per carry, scored 16 of the 30 rushing touchdowns, averaged 36.9 yards per kick return and also returned three kicks for touchdowns in 2012.

Opposing teams quickly learned to focus on Archer’s location on the field at all times but still struggled to contain the 5-foot-8-inches, 175-pound tailback.

He garnered multiple All-American honors and has even been featured in a new, nationally printed comic strip by cartoonist and Kent State alumnus Chuck Ayers. It’s called “The Archer.”

Coming off a season with so much success, it would be easy for a player such as Archer, who considered leaving school for the NFL Draft, to rest on his laurels. But Archer, Haynes said, is not that type of person.

Archer is “doing a good job,” Haynes said. “He’s probably had the best summer and best camp so far as far as his work ethic. A lot of times, a lot of people get worried about the hype, but he’s a quiet kid. He’s a kid that goes to work and does what he has to do.”

“When you sit there and tell him, ‘Hey, you need to improve on this,’ he works at it. So we’ve just got to continue to stay on top of him and make sure he’s improving every day.”

Still, the man who will hand the ball off to Durham and Archer has yet to be determined. Competition for quarterback between Fisher and Colin Reardon continues throughout camp, and so far, it’s about as close as it can get. But Haynes feels fortunate to have two quarterbacks playing well.

“That’s a good thing,” Haynes said. “They’re both still looking pretty good, and competition brings out the best. Those guys know there can only be one of them out there. Both of them are challenging each other, both of them are getting better at certain things every day. We’ll continue [the competition] until the end of camp.”

Haynes has allowed the two to get their repetitions in practice and has yet to take a closer look at the quarterback play, which he said he will save for the team’s first jersey scrimmage and the days that follow.

“I try and catch as many balls as I can with the both of them because we don’t know who it’s going to be,” Goode said. “Both quarterbacks are coming out, working hard and competing.”

The quarterback who earns the starting job will have the benefit of a receiving corps that may be better than the group from last season, thanks to the return of Goode, as well as sophomore Josh Boyle and junior Chris Humphreys, who both saw plenty of action in 2012.

“I think we bring a lot of experience and knowledge, and with us keeping our same offensive coordinator [Brian Rock], I think we just start where we left off at and just keep rolling, making everything better. I think the receiving corps is going to play a big part this year.”

Goode, with his speed and playmaking abilities, will be expected to anchor the receivers this season, a responsibility that he says he is more than eager to accept.

“I’m more hungry than I’ve ever been to play football,” Goode said. “Last year was the first season I’ve sat out of football since I was five. I definitely miss and love the sport, and I’m glad to just be out here. I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure I finish strong.”

Goode looked like his old self, comfortable catching passes in multiple drills during practice on Aug. 13. As far as his hamstring injury is concerned, he said he feels like he is finally back to 100 percent.

“I’m feeling real good,” Goode said. “I’m just out here knocking some rust off, that’s what camp is for. You know, just getting back into the groove.”

Another player getting back into the rigors of everyday practice is senior safety Luke Wollet, who, with three letters already earned, is one of the most experienced players returning in 2013.

“Coach Haynes has a great reputation with safeties,” Wollet said. “He’s been able to teach me a lot of things that I didn’t know last year and help my game out and help some other players’ games out.”

The defense will feature some new starters in 2013.

“Guys need to step up,” Wollet said. “We lost some great seniors from last year. For them, it’s about seizing an opportunity. You only get so many chances in life, and I think the guys are doing a great job responding to the challenge.”

As far as the lesser-known names are concerned, redshirt freshman receiver Ernest Calhoun from nearby Akron Buchtel High School has been the source of plenty of buzz during camp.

“Calhoun definitely is one of those little, explosive guys you’ve got to watch out for,” Goode said.

Haynes is also on the lookout for players rising to the top of the lineup during preseason practice.

“We don’t set the depth chart — the kids make the depth chart,” Haynes said. “If you want to be in the depth, then put yourself in the depth. The film doesn’t lie.”

Film study, two-a-day practices and team meetings remain before the first game of the season against Liberty University on Aug. 29. But far before the opening kickoff, Haynes has driven into the minds of all players that another successful season will not just arrive due to past victories.

“Coach Haynes has done a great job of putting it into everybody’s heads that we have a bull’s-eye on our back now,” Goode said. “It’s hard to keep repeating success because you think you’ve earned something.”

Contact Nick Shook at [email protected].