Kent State football gives preview of what team will look like under coach Kenni Burns

KENT — The public saw a glimpse Saturday of what Kent State football will look like this fall under first-year coach Kenni Burns.

There was some razzle dazzle.

There was solid defense.

There was some good old-fashioned hard-nosed running.

Here’s what came out of the game won 13-12 by the gold team:

Kent State football: Kenni Burns' upbringing made him the winning coach he is today

What did coach Kenni Burns think of his first spring game with Kent State?

As the score indicated, it was extremely competitive.

Gavin Garcia (17 carries, 94 yards, 2 TDs) scored a touchdown for the blue team to bring the deficit to one with 3:22 left, but a pass breakup by Nicholas Giacolone at the goal line on a two-point conversion kept the gold in front.

Ky Thomas (11 carries, 85 yards) also looked solid.

“I thought the game was competitive,” Burns said. “I split up the team evenly — half the ones were on this team, half the other ones were on that team — so it was a good matchup. … We used the line on both teams so they probably got worn down a little bit, but I'm proud of our guys. They worked so hard this spring. This was for them. They could go out there and have fun, compete with each other to finish this thing off and hopefully it gets some momentum going into the summer.”

Who stood out the most for Kent State?

The defensive backs were solid, with D.J. Miller Jr. playing a big role with a fumble recovery and big pass break up in the end zone.

Burns pointed to Miller, Capone Blue and Josh Baka. The unit forced a turnover and held quarterbacks to an 11-for-23 performance for 187 yards.

Excluded from those numbers was a 75-yard touchdown pass by wide receiver Luke Floriea to Trell Harris (2 catches, 88 yards).

“I’m super excited for the season,” Miller said. “Everybody has a chance to step up, and that’s exactly what they did all spring, including today. We don’t have any starters back on offense, but that’s OK. We had a lot of young guys step up, a lot of new guys come in and took their place. I’m feeling really good about the season, both on offense and defense.”

Who will quarterback Kent State?

Those who follow the Flashes know just how much the team lost when Collin Schlee transferred to UCLA.

What they saw Saturday were sophomores Jaren Lewis, Devin Kargman and Tommy Ulatowski battle with junior Chandler Galban.

Ulatowski (3-for-5 passing, 85 yards) had the best showing, but the battle is far from over.

“I think it’s making every single quarterback in the room better,” said Floriea, who had two catches for 75 yards. “When you have a starter, the backups aren’t really working as hard because they know they’re not going to get the opportunity. Right now, it’s all up in the air. We don’t know who the starter is going to be, so I think every guy works hard every day.”

What starters are back for the Kent State football team?

No mid-major may have been hit harder by the transfer portal than Kent State, which does not return a single All-Mid-American Conference player.

Only Miller and defensive tackle CJ West return as starters on defense from the 5-7 squad.

That doesn’t seem to bother anyone as there’s a lot of optimism under their new coach.

“We’re considered leaders on this team, and that’s a big thing,” West said. “We make sure everybody gets along well. Everybody knows their assignments. Once we gel together, things will come easily.”

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent State football's spring game answers some questions