Kent State Golden Flashes NFL Draft Prospects

Kent State's 5-7 finish in 2025 (4-4 in the MAC) would look ordinary anywhere else, but for a program that had won just one game across the previous two seasons it counted as a genuine revival. The upheaval was real: head coach Kenni Burns was placed on leave and then fired in the spring of 2025, and Mark Carney took over a roster starting almost from scratch. He steadied it, found a quarterback and pushed the Golden Flashes to a .500 record in league play.

The most important offseason development was keeping that quarterback. With him back and a full year of continuity, expectations have climbed, though both preseason reads slot Kent State near the bottom of the MAC at around 10th, with a bowl bid looking like a stretch. A nonconference slate that opens at South Carolina and visits Ohio State inside the first three weeks only sharpens the challenge.