Football coach Kenni Burns will face his first challenge on Thursday in Orlando when Kent State begins its season against the University of Central Florida.
“UCF is a very good football team,” Burns said in a press conference on Monday. “They’re going to play fast, they’re going to be disciplined and they’re going to do everything right when it comes to how you play the game.”
The Knights finished last season with a 9-5 overall record and a 6-2 record against American Athletic Conference opponents.
The team finished second in the AAC and lost the conference championship game to No. 9 Tulane.
UCF earned a spot in the Gasparilla Bowl last season, beating Florida 29-17.
Fifth-year senior John Rhys Plumlee will be commanding the Knights offense.
Plumlee spent his first three seasons at Ole Miss and transferred to UCF for the 2022 season – he started in 13 games last season and threw for 14 touchdowns, eight interceptions and 2,586 yards, leading the Knights to becoming the No. 16 ranked team nationally in total yards per game with 469.6 yards.
His most impressive stats come on the ground, however.
The quarterback was UCF’s leading rusher by yards last season, accounting for 861 yards and adding 11 touchdowns.
“He’s a very athletic and very talented guy that you need to keep bottled up,” Burns said. “You get him in space, and he can make big plays. He’s becoming a better thrower and more accurate. He’s an experienced guy and a guy that the offense definitely runs through.”
The team was ranked ninth nationally in rushing yards per game last season with the help of Plumlee, redshirt senior RJ Harvey and Isaiah Bowser, who is now a free agent in the NFL.
Harvey totaled 796 rushing yards last season with five touchdowns and looks to increase his production as a starting running back.
“He’s explosive and plays great in space,” Burns said. “He’s going to challenge us to get him down because the first guy very rarely gets him down, so we’ll have to play well with him.”
Kent State allowed 160.1 rushing yards per game on average last season, ranking them eighth in the Mid-American Conference and No. 80 in the nation.
The Flashes are led by redshirt junior quarterback Michael Alaimo, who is making his first start for the team after appearing in four games for Purdue over the last three seasons.
KSU led the MAC last season in rushing yards per game (202.8) and was second in the conference in total rushing yards (2,433), average rushing yards per attempt (4.7) and rushing touchdowns (23).
The ground attack will be led by graduate student Xavier Williams, sophomore Gavin Garcia, and redshirt junior Ky Thomas.
Garcia rushed for 211 yards and one touchdown last season for the Flashes. Thomas, who played for Kansas last season, ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns during the 2022 season. Williams did not appear in a game last season.
Defensively, UCF struggled against the run, ranking 75th nationally in yards allowed per game (157.3).
Kent State looks to find success through the rushing attack, using a variety of options throughout the game.
“We’re definitely going to be a team that does multiple things this first week,” Burns said. “You’re going to see the ball touching a lot of people’s hands early on in the game to get guys involved and get them going. As the game goes on, you’re going to look at who has the hot hand, at running back for sure, and try to get them more touches and doing the things they do well.”
Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. Thursday in Orlando, Florida.
“It’s an exciting time for Kent State football,” Burns said. “We’re excited about the opportunity. Our guys have worked extremely hard up to this point, and I know they’re ready to play.”
John Hilber is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
