LAS CRUCES – Mayfield senior running Isaac Vance will be a future Kent State Golden Flash.

Vance announced his verbal commitment to Kent State Monday night. He also had an offer from New Mexico State.

“What really led me to Kent State was just the coaching staff,” Vance said. “I really love the coaching staff. The campus is beautiful. And for me, something that was huge was their offense. Their offense has a chance for me to be in the backfield, to be at slots and to be put out on the edge. And they get their hybrids the ball a lot. They get those guys the ball quite often. I’m really looking forward to that and I would love that.

"And another thing for me is that I am really close to a church up there. Their (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) is phenomenal up there and I would love to be a part of that."

Vance is one of the state’s top running backs, and one of the top players in state. He rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 32 touchdowns last season and led the Trojans to the District 3-6A championship and the Class 6A state semifinals. Vance also helped Mayfield to a district title and a Class 6A state runner-up finish his sophomore year, in 2014.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/spo...elds-isaac-vance-commits-kent-state/88810158/

Note: In another post (Paul Haynes is the right coach for Kent State), I stated that Haynes, as a Christian with biblical wisdom, has more than secular, intellectual insight, but has a spiritual perspective that far exceeds the secular outlook. Evidently, Vance saw the same spiritual qualities in Coach Haynes as I did and that was one of his deciding factors in committing to Kent State.

https://kentstate.forums.rivals.com/threads/paul-haynes-is-the-right-coach-for-kent-state.1077/

When asked about this year's football team at last month’s Mid American Conference Media Day, Coach Paul Haynes said, , “We are who were are. We’re a blue collar football team. We grind it out, we work hard. We go out there and we’re a mentality tough football team. So those are the things. Kent will never change, ever since the days that I played. We are who we are. We are blue collar. We are hard workers, we grind it out. The thing that we have to change is the winning and I think that will change this year."

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In order to be a blue-collar team, you need to have blue-collar players. So exactly what is a blue-collar player? Bill Parcells, the former head coach who led the New York Giants to two Super Bowl victories, referred to a blue-collar player as ''a parking-lot player, a street player.'' Even before Paul Haynes played at Kent State, the Flashes were known for their parking-lot player/street player mindset. The best example of this was Jack Lambert, whose blue-collar toughness was undeniably noticed by Art Rooney Jr. when he came to Kent to scout Lambert himself.

In the article, "For Steelers' Fans Who Don't Know Jack," the author describes the moment when Rooney knew that Lambert was every bit the player that he had hoped him to be.

"The practice field was too muddy that afternoon, so the team, without the luxury of major-college facilities, practiced on a parking lot full of cinders and gravel. That meant nothing to Lambert, even wearing shorts. He still pursued with reckless abandon and displayed the same intensity at a practice, on gravel, that he did on game-day. On one play, Lambert ended up face-first in the cinders. He refused treatment as if nothing happened. For the rest of the practice, Lambert calmly picked pieces of gravel from his face, knees and elbows. Mr. Rooney had seen enough."

Today, the player who demonstrates Jack Lambert's blue-collar toughness is Nate Holley, who last year was named to the Academic All-MAC Team for the second time in his career and to the All-MAC First Team. Last season, Holley made 15 or more tackles in six of his last nine games and led the MAC with 141 total tackles. The All-MAC safety made a season-high 16 tackles against Bowling Green and Akron and was named to the Hero Sports Non-Power Five All-America First Team. Holley is just one of 42 defensive backs on the preseason Jim Thorpe Award Watch List and projected by College Sports Madness to be the MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Last season, Holley had an incredible 11 tackles in the first half and led the team with 15 tackles against Marshall (see video below).

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With Nate Holley, along with his twin brother Nick, Terence Waugh, and Demetrious Monday, I believe Flash fans have seen a sense of toughness and physicality on the field and a general positive attitude from players and coaches alike since the arrival of Coach Haynes.

Last season, Waugh was named to the All-MAC First Team. He led the team with 9.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for a loss. The All-MAC defensive end is one of 32 players named to the Ted Hendricks Award Watch List. In 2015, Waugh made 57 tackles and was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week after recording career-highs of 3.0 sacks and 11 tackles against Marshall (see video below).

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In 2015, Monday earned All-MAC First Team honors. He had six interceptions ranked fifth in the nation and was named National Defensive Player of the Week by College Sports Madness and MAC East Defensive Player of the Week after forcing three turnovers at Minnesota, including an 80-yard return on a fumble recovery for a touchdown (click web address below). The All MAC cornerback scored his second touchdown of the season on 69-yard interception return against Buffalo and intercepted three passes in his first three games at Big Ten opponents.

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=13690829

Establishing a mentally tough football team will not transform a program overnight, but it is something that can lay a foundation to becoming that blue-collar, overachieving type of program that Haynes wants to build at Kent State.

Haynes was hired in December of 2012 and has compiled an overall record of 9-26. Mark Stoops, another blue-collar work ethic coach (see below), was hired at Kentucky in November 2012 and has compiled an overall record of 12-24. Neither record would indicate a program transformation, however that doesn't mean that progress isn't taking place. Winning football games at Kent State and Kentucky have never come easy but I believe Haynes and Stoops will both have success if given enough time.

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Note: The coach's microphone stopped working, but you can still hear him through the entire interview (although a little softer than the questions).

Searching for the right pieces to fit into their puzzle, Kent State is slowly but surely putting together a solid class of 2017 prospects.

On Wednesday evening another talented high school senior decided to give head coach Paul Haynes, and the Golden Flashes his verbal pledge.

"It was the perfect fit. The Coaches are fantastic people and they offer the very limited major that I am interested in. I want to be a professional pilot. They offer an amazing aeronautical program. The town is also great. Downtown Kent is beautiful. I have no negatives." Offensive tackle Eddie Brecht stated to Hustle Belt as a few of the reasons why he selected to continue the next step of his football career and education at Kent State.

While Kent State might have been the only FBS program to offer him a full ride scholarship, the 6'7, 290-pound standout from Lapeer East High School in Lapeer, Michigan had other chances to play on the college level. Holding a preferred walk-on opportunity from the University of Michigan, and offers from Division II schools such as Ferris State, and Northwood, Brecht is confident in his choice to be a Golden Flash.

"After I talked with my family and coaches I decided it was a no brainier. I was being recruited by Coach (Rob) Zeitman and he is a truly great person. They were super excited when I informed them. Great experience overall."

http://www.hustlebelt.com/2016/8/5/...ddie-brecht-commits-golden-flashes-highlights

DETROIT: Kent State football coach Paul Haynes has brought the African term “ubuntu” to his team, and his players love it.

The Golden Flashes posted a 3-9 overall record in 2015 and finished last in the Mid-American Conference East Division with a 2-6 mark.

With a tough season in the past, Haynes and the Flashes are seeking a turnaround in 2016 with 21 returning starters.

“I heard the term ubuntu for the first time a number of years ago, but then I started researching it and looking into it on what it really means and what it is about, and I think it fits our team this year,” Haynes said Thursday during the Mid-American Conference Football Media Day at Ford Field in Detroit.

“What the term is is ‘I am who I am because of who you are and because of who we are.’

“I can’t be the best person or best football player I possibly can be unless you are. It is not a ‘All for One, One for All.’ It is a little bit more than that. It’s all about humility, servitude and making sure that the person next to me is reaching his full potential. That is my job as a person to make sure that I do that. If everybody around us is reaching their full potential than we will get the results that we want.”

KSU defensive backs Nate Holley and Demetrius Monday are returning starters and Thursday expressed that the team is embracing the ubuntu philosophy.

“The term is basically saying I can’t be great, if we aren’t great,” Holley said. “That is kind of our new motto going into this season.”

KSU will open its season at Penn State at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 3.

“We are changing guys’ minds and we are maturing as a team,” Holley said. “We do have a lot of guys returning, but we still have mentally some maturing and growing to do. That is really what our emphasis is on. I think that will make us a better team in the long run. We have the same goal as everybody else, and that is to be back here in Detroit come December [2 and win the MAC championship game].”

Haynes said Justin Agner, George Bollas (Aurora) and Mylik Mitchell are competing for the starting quarterback position. Bollas has starting experience.

“We will name our starter hopefully after our first scrimmage in August,” Haynes said.

Haynes praised Holley, defensive lineman Terence Waugh, offensive lineman Wayne Scott and linebacker Nick Cuthbert for being leaders.

“These are guys we threw into the fire Year One,” Haynes said. “Those guys know our expectations and know what we want as a coaching staff.”

Other returning starters on offense are tight end Brice Fackler, running back Raekwon James, linemen Scott, Stefano Millin, Nathan Puthoff, Reno Reda and Brock Macaulay, wide receivers Kris White, Johnny Woods and Antwan Dixon and kicker Shane Hynes.

The defense returns Monday, Holley, Najee Murray, Darius Redmond and Elcee Refuge in the backfield and Waugh, Jon Cunningham and Chris Fairchild up front.

“The expectations for these guys have gone up on how they play because they have played a lot of football,” Haynes said. “I think everyone wants to be back here in December. That is the goal of every program here, but we don’t want to think about the end result of the season. We think about the end result of the day. We have got to make sure we get better every day.”

Check the polls

The University of Akron checked in at No. 3 in the MAC East Preseason Media Poll and KSU appeared at No. 6. Bowling Green and Ohio held the top two spots in the MAC East. Western Michigan, Toledo and Northern Illinois were 1-2-3 in the MAC West.

“We didn’t beat Ohio and we didn’t beat Bowling Green last year,” UA coach Terry Bowden said. “Until we beat them, there is no reason for us to be ranked higher.

“As much as you want to have a lot of preseason accolades, there is nothing less important in life than where you rank in the preseason. It’s where you end up after the season. … Ohio and Bowling Green have consistently been there.”

KSU is confident it can climb up the standings in 2016.

“We have a lot of guys that come in with experience,” Monday said. “Experience always helps when you are trying to bring the leadership role and getting closer on a personal level. We are looking good with our experience and helping the younger guys come up.”

http://www.ohio.com/sports/kent-sta...s-african-term-ubuntu-to-his-players-1.700720

The National College Football Awards Association placed Kent State senior safety Nate Holley (Toledo, Ohio) on the 22nd Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List Tuesday, which honors the defensive player of the year. Holley is one of 90 FBS players and one of just two Mid-American Conference players on the list.

A two-time All-MAC First Team selection, Holley has made 315 career tackles. He is also a two-time member of the Academic All-MAC Team.

Chuck Bednarik, former standout at Penn and with the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame's Class of '69 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of '67.

Semifinalists for the Bednarik Award will be announced Oct. 31, 2016, while the three finalists will be unveiled Nov. 21, 2016. The winner will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Dec. 8, 2016. The formal presentation will be made at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala hosted by Tropicana Hotel & Casino Atlantic City on March 10, 2017.

http://www.kentstatesports.com/news/2016/7/5/football-holley-named-to-bednarik-watch-list.aspx

Although I admit there is some validity to the rankings produced by recruiting sites such as Rivals and 247Sports, I believe Paul Haynes' 2016 recruiting class is much better than the rankings indicate. While this class won't blow anyone away from a ranking standpoint, I believe the coaches have filled a need for speed.

In this recruiting class, two recruits with the most speed are Kavious Price and Mike Carrigan. Price, a 5-5, 155 pound wide receiver from Manatee High in Bradenton, FL., was a state finalist in the 100 meters and 200 meters and a state champion on the 4X100 meter relay team. Carrigan, a 6-0, 168 pound wide receiver from Godby High in Tallahassee, FL., was on the state runner-up 4X100 meter relay team and a city champion in the 100-meters. On the football field, Price had 40 catches for 842 yards and 12 touchdowns and Carrigan had 37 catches for 629 yards and 7 touchdowns. While you can find recruits with more impressive stats, you will find very few who can run 100 meters at 10.7 seconds and under as both Price and Carrigan have done.

The night before National Signing Day, Price received a late call from the University of South Florida hoping to get him to flip his commitment, but he kept his word and signed with Kent State.

Price is already being compared to Dri Archer, who was an electric receiver/ kick returner for Kent State and developed into an NFL third-round pick. The Golden Flashes plan to use Price in a similar fashion.

The man responsible for recruiting Acher was Doug Martin. But before Martin recruited Archer, Martin recruited another undersized player out of Pittsburgh Central Catholic by the name of Eugene Jarvis.

At 5-5 and 170 pounds, Jarvis believed Martin when he sat in Jarvis' living room on a recruiting visit and told him size didn't matter.

"To me, you believe what you see on the game film: He makes plays against everybody," Martin said. "When I met him in person, I could tell that he was a young man with a huge chip on his shoulder. He didn't think people believed in him. I knew if I got him that he'd go out every Saturday and prove people wrong, and that's what he's doing. That's a healthy chip to have on your shoulder."

As a red-shirt freshman, Jarvis rushed for 798 yards, then 1,699 yards as a sophomore and 801 yards in 2008 in an injury-plagued junior season. In 2009, he opened the season with 143 yards in the opener against Coastal Carolina before suffering a kidney injury against Boston College. Had it not been for his kidney injury, Jarvis would have finished his career as one of Kent State's best all-time running backs.

Archer was recruited out of Venice High School (FL) where he finished second in the 100 meters state track meet with a time of 10.49 seconds. Although the diminutive Archer was offered track scholarships from both Clemson and Arkansas, Kent State was the only school to offer him a football scholarship.

As a freshman, Archer played in 11 games and amassed over 500 yards, both rushing and receiving. However, it wasn't until his third season that he broke out and totaled 1,429 yards and 16 touchdowns on the ground and had 561 yards receiving and four receiving touchdowns. His 23 total touchdowns led the MAC and set a single-season school record. Archer was named the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year and made the All-MAC first team as a running back and kick returner. He was also a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award and a consensus All-American.

No one knows if Price or Carrigan will have the kind of success as Jarvis or Archer but given that the Flashes are in desperate need of team speed, I believe it's fair to say that help is on it's way. Should these two track stars have productive careers on the field at Kent State, I just hope they don't forget that Coach Haynes was the one who did not give up on them when almost everyone else did. Moreover, I hope the fans give Haynes credit for recruiting these two players that no one hardly wanted.

Everybody knows what a uniform is. Some may say a uniform includes the helmet, the shoes, and every imaginable piece of fabric in between. Some may limit it to only the jersey and the pants. To put it simply, the uniform is the appearance of a football player and team. On game days, it can provide a small pre-game confidence boost, at best. In the big picture, the uniform’s impact is up for debate (click link below for full article).
http://picksixpreviews.com/fashion-wars.html

Earlier this week, Pro Football Focus unveiled its Top 101 players in the NFL for 2015. Lists like this are often interesting to peruse especially from a colleges perspective. One of the things that jumped out at me was how many of the guys at the top of the list -- the best of the best in football --€” arrived in college as unheralded recruits.

If you look at the top six names of the list -- Aaron Donald, Antonio Brown, Luke Kuechly, Rob Gronkowski, J.J. Watt and Khalil Mack -- only Gronk was ranked as a "four-star" prospect of higher. Donald and Kuechly were three-star guys. Watt and Mack were two-stars and Brown was a zero star.

I charted the Top 101 by recruiting rankings (using the 247 Sports composite model when available and if the player came out before that used Rivals and found the following:

10 players were rated as 5-stars.

24 players were rated as 4-stars.

32 players were rated as 3-stars.

17 players were rated as 2-stars.

8 players were rated as 0-stars.

There were also 10 guys who came along before the star system was using in online recruiting.

Given that there are more two and three star prospects, I'm not sure it's much of a surprise that there'd be more three-star guys thriving in the NFL. Still, it was pretty fascinating to see how many truly elite guys weren't highly touted coming out of high school at all. What also surprised me a little bit was that the average star ranking for D-linemen on this list (2.52) was even lower than O-linemen (2.67), which I've always believed is tougher for college coaches to evaluate.

In case you were wondering, the SEC produced, by far, the most players on this list --€” 27. The Big Ten was next with 20 and then there was a big drop-off among Power 5 leagues. In fact, if you group "FBS mid-majors together, they produced 14. Next up was the Pac-12 with 12, the ACC with 11 and the Big 12 with five --€” only two more than Notre Dame produced by itself. (LSU, who features Tyrann Mathieu, Patrick Peterson, Odell Beckham, Trai Turner, Andrew Whitworth and Jarvis Landry, actually had more players on this list than the all the Big 12 schools combined. And that was without me including CB Delvin Breaux on LSU's total since he was never cleared to play in a game for the Tigers.) Nine players on the list came from non Division I programs.

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/...unheraded-are-thriving-in-pro-football-051316

Can experience give the Golden Flashes enough offensive oomph to win some games? Or will a great defense die on the vine again?

Click the link below for SB Nation's football preview of the 2016 Golden Flashes.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-foo...ball-2016-preview-schedule-roster/in/11141521

By definition, liberalism is a political or social philosophy advocating the freedom of the individual, parliamentary systems of government, nonviolent modification of political, social, or economic institutions to assure unrestricted development in all spheres of human endeavor, and governmental guarantees of individual rights and civil liberties.

So why is anyone surprised that Julio Pino is still allowed to teach at Kent State? The university's administration and students are just being good liberals by advocating his freedom of speech and protecting his unrestricted behavior, individual rights, and civil liberties.

If this isn't liberal lunacy in academia, then I don't know what is.

When Your College Prof is an ISIS Terrorist

I had some college professors who were sympathetic to Islamic terrorists, but not any who were actual Islamic terrorists (as far as I know). Now, students at a Midwestern university have learned that their professor is an ISIS terrorist, and that the FBI let him continue teaching them for a year and a half.

Yet another reason why college could be hazardous to your health and why you should be suspicious of profs who shout “Death to Israel!”: Julio Pino a/k/a Assad Jibril Pino, ISIS terrorist.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are investigating Julio Pino, a Kent State associate history professor, for alleged involvement with the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. A joint terrorism task force has been investigating Pino for the last year and a half, said an FBI special agent who did not wish to be named for safety reasons. “There is no direct threat to the university,” the agent said.

Riiight. Your professor is working for a mass-murdering organization that beheads and burns people alive and vows to destroy America, but he’s absolutely “no direct threat” to his workplace and students. Did someone tell that to Syed Farook’s co-workers in San Bernardino?

The agent said they interviewed several faculty members and more than 20 of Pino’s students Tuesday about his alleged involvement. He is also being investigated for allegedly recruiting students to join ISIS.

Kent State is fully cooperating with the FBI,” said University Spokesman Eric Mansfield. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we will have no further comment.” Mansfield said he could not comment on whether or not Pino would continue to teach at the university.

Yes, let’s keep this guy at the university so he can recruit more ISIS terrorists and maybe kill some infidels. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Don’t violate his civil rights!

“The FBI has assured Kent State that there is no threat to campus,” Mansfield said.

Again, total BS if this guy’s still on the campus.

Pino is teaching two classes this semester: History of Cuba and Central America and a senior seminar in history.

Let me guess: he is totally mancrushing on the Castro Bros. He’s Cuban and a former Fulbright Scholar. So, he’s not stupid. Just evil.

By the way, here are a few fun facts about Pino you won’t read anywhere else: he converted to Islam in June 2000 and, in the Islamic community, goes by the name Assad Jibril Pino. He called a Cuban dish made of pork, “Islamophobic.” Yes, apparently, inanimate objects can now be “Islamophobic,” according to Pino. alhamdulilah [praise allah].

Our friend, Fred Taub of Boycott Watch was an eyewitness to some of the ISIS prof’s behavior. Fred said that Pino repeatedly disrupted a pro-Israel event on the Kent State Campus featuring the Ishmael Khaldi, former Deputy Consul General at the Israel Consulate in San Francisco, who is an Arab Muslim.

Says Fred:

This guy has also disturbed pro-Israel events and speakers at Kent State, making loud BDS (Boycott, Divest from, and Sanction Israel movement) and “Apartheid” comments against Israel. I was at Kent State at the event at which Ishmael Khaldi was speaking, and he [Pino] loudly interrupted.

Pino also shouted, “Death to Israel!” at the event. His behavior was so outrageous that even Kent State’s liberal then-president Lester Lefton put out a statement denouncing his behavior as “deplorable . . ., reprehensible, and an embarrassment.” What if he’d chosen to strap a bomb on and press the button? Then everyone in that room would have been dead. We’re lucky he didn’t do that.

Read more about that event.

Moreover, he has a history of praising the Islamic terrorism for which he now recruits:

In April 2002, Pino wrote a guest column in the campus newspaper in which he praised Ayat al-Akhras, a teenage Palestinian suicide bomber who had murdered Rachel Levy, 17, and security guard Haim Smadar, 55, at a supermarket in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood the previous month. The column was titled “Singing out Prayer for a Youth Martyr,” and in it, Pino wrote that Akhras “died a martyr’s death… in occupied Jerusalem, Palestine.”

Pino says he is inspired by Iran’s late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the man who directed the takeover of the U.S Embassy in Tehran and the holding of many Americans hostage for 444 days.

In a letter to pro-Israel university professors, Pino threatened them with violence, calling them “collaborators,” and promising them “jihad until victory.”

Dear academic friends of Israel:

I hold you directly responsible for the murder of over 1,400 Palestinian children, women and elderly civilians over the past month. This is not symbolic or even legally justified homicide on your part but actual, cold-blooded, calculated killing, for which you are culpable. . . . You have chosen to openly work for and brag about academic collaboration with a regime that is the spiritual heir to Nazism. I could call you another Martin Heidegger, but that would be an insult—to Heidegger. . . .

Lest you think this is a personal attack I swear it applies equally to all who engage in collaboration with fascism, and we both know the fate of collaborators. In the same manner, only with more zeal, than you have sworn to the Jewish State I pledge to you, and every friend and stooge of Zionism,

Hasta la victoria siempre!

Jihad until victory!

Dr. Julio Pino

That’s an open death threat. And it was penned and sent in August 2014. And yet the FBI says this guy isn’t a threat? Are you kidding? If he were a Christian or Jew and sent this to Muslims, I guarantee you he’d be behind bars right now, regardless of the recruitment of students to terrorism. But, as we know, there is a tip-toeing double standard for how we treat these guys who are down with the jihad.

By the way, for the record, Pino isn’t the first Islamic terrorist college professor. As I noted many times over the years on this site, Islamic terrorist Sami Al-Arian was the worldwide founder and chief of Islamic Jihad and a professor of computer science at the University of South Florida (USF) at the same time that he ran the group’s operations and terrorist attacks in Israel, including a bus-bombing that murdered American college student, Alisa Flatow. Al-Arian also used his university perch to raise funds for Islamic Jihad and its terrorist operations, as well as approve the group’s planned merger with HAMAS.

And even though USF removed him from teaching and banned him from setting foot on campus–because the university deemed him a danger and security threat to students, he was welcomed by the University of Michigan to speak at its Divestment (from Israel) Conference. (As an attorney hired by some concerned students, we tried to prevent him from appearing.) Al-Arian was later convicted of terrorism and was finally deported.

But that was back in the days. Let’s see if anything really serious happens to this guy, Pino. Don’t hold your breath.

It’s simply asinine that the FBI and the university would let this guy continue teaching and ISIS-recruiting for 1.5 years. I understand the need to furtively build a case against him.

But, as I noted above, what if, one day, he decided to put on a bomb vest and blow up his students?

Exit Question: since we know that Kent State has a long history of left-wing students who hate America and resort to violence to express that hatred, how many students do you think Pino successfully recruited for ISIS without FBI knowledge or before the FBI chose to publicize this investigation?

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/8111...rrorist-exclusive-details-eyewitness-account/

Toledo has hired offensive coordinator Jason Candle to replace Matt Campbell as head coach, first reported by WTOL's Jordan Strack and confirmed by Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman. Campbell was announced as Iowa State's head coach Sunday after a 35-15 record in four years with the Rockets. An official announcement is expected Wednesday afternoon.

Candle was initially going to be one of the assistants Campbell took with him to Ames, likely as Iowa State's offensive coordinator. He had actually already made it there, reportedly recruiting for the Cyclones.

As soon as Campbell's new destination was announced, Candle was "overwhelmingly" the choice of the players. When the Rockets named DC Jon Heacock interim head coach, it seemed the school might go in a different direction. But then Candle was offered the job, and he went back from Ames to Toledo.

The Rockets are already celebrating.

Candle joined the Toledo coaching staff in 2009 as a slot receivers/tight ends coach under Tim Beckman, and was promoted to offensive coordinator when Campbell was hired. Under Campbell and Candle, the Rockets ranked in the top five of the MAC in points per game every season, and led the league with 36.6 points per game in 2014.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/12/2/9836190/jason-candle-toledo-football-coach

Toledo coach Matt Campbell left Ames, Iowa, in October 2014 with a 37-30 loss and a deep appreciation of Iowa State football.

On Sunday, Campbell celebrated his 36th birthday as the new coach of the Cyclones.

Iowa State announced the hiring Sunday afternoon, saying Campbell has agreed to a six-year contract starting at $2 million for 2016. Campbell will replace Paul Rhoads, who was fired a week ago after seven seasons.

Campbell is now the youngest coach at a Power 5 school. He went 35-15 in four seasons with the Rockets, including 9-2 this season with victories over Iowa State and Arkansas.

"After we played the Cyclones in Ames, I called my wife and said, 'You simply would not believe this place,'" Campbell, who will address the media Monday, said in a statement. "Their fans, the game-day environment and facilities are all incredible. I could see us living in Ames and me coaching the Cyclones someday."

Iowa State will pay a $200,000 buyout to bring Campbell aboard, sources told ESPN.

Rockets athletic director Mike O'Brien said Saturday that the school had offered Campbell a contract that would have made him the highest-paid coach in the Mid-American Conference.

Toledo is scheduled to hold a 5 p.m. ET Sunday news conference with O'Brien. Defensive coordinator Jon Heacock will be named interim coach for the Rockets, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.

According to USA Today's coaching salary database, Western Michigan coach P.J. Fleck is making $800,000 this season, which is the MAC's highest salary. Rhoads made $2.2 million this year at Iowa State, which also owes Rhoads a $4.5 million buyout.

Campbell's first win came in the 2011 Military Bowl after Tim Beckman left Toledo for Illinois. The Ohio native then went 9-4 and 7-5, and the Rockets beatArkansas State in a bowl game last season for another 9-4 finish.

The Rockets started 7-0 this fall before a loss to Northern Illinois. Western Michigan stunned Toledo 35-30 on Friday, handing NIU the division title and likely speeding up Campbell's departure for Ames.

Campbell was an offensive coordinator prior to taking over as Toledo's head coach, and the Rockets averaged at least 31 points per game in each of his first four seasons.

He will take over an Iowa State program with a long history of finishing at the bottom of the Big 12 heap. Iowa State went 8-28 in its last three seasons under Rhoads, a popular and energetic coach who took the team to three bowls in his first four seasons.

The Cyclones will bring back Mike Warren, who rushed for 1,339 yards as a freshman, and star wideout Allen Lazard. Sophomore quarterback Joel Lanningwas up and down after taking over as the starter midway through this season, but he showed plenty of promise as a runner and a passer.

Iowa State will lose four starters on its offensive line, but the Cyclones return as many as nine starters on their defense -- including six in their front seven.

The Cyclones weren't expected to be big-time players in a flooded coaching market, but they made a pre-emptive move to grab one of the nation's brightest young coaches. Campbell's first season as coach brings a brutal schedule, with trips to Iowa, TCU and Oklahoma State in the first six weeks.

Iowa State will likely show patience with Campbell. But the Cyclones have revamped their facilities and stadium greatly in recent years and appear set for a more serious push toward relevance in the Big 12.

"Matt's coaching and playing achievements are extraordinary, but we were even more impressed by his character, leadership and commitment to his family," Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard said.

http://espn.go.com/ncf/story/_/id/1...rockets-become-iowa-state-cyclones-head-coach

UCF is expected to hire Bowling Green head coach Dino Babers to replace George O'Leary, with an announcement expected soon, SB Nation's Steven Godfrey reports. 247Sports first reported the expected deal. Bowling Green plays Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship Game Friday.

O'Leary announced his resignation in October in the midst of an 0-12 season. The school's head coach since 2004, O'Leary had led the Knights to a Fiesta Bowl win just two years ago, and retired with an 81-68 record at the school.

Things got so bad for UCF that an Orlando bar started serving free beer to customers until the next Knights victory. That hasn't happened yet. UCF's final loss of the season, a 44-3 Thanksgiving defeat to South Florida, featured some of the saddest fans we've ever seen.

A former Hawaii running back and defensive back who bounced between jobs for much of the beginning of his career, Babers latched onto Art Briles's Baylor staff in 2008, coaching wide receivers and special teams. He was hired as the head coach of FCS Eastern Illinois prior to the 2012 season, leading the Panthers to back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference titles. Babers's explosive offense style was on display his second year at EIU; with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the Panthers went 8-0 in conference play and advanced to the FCS quarterfinals.

Babers took his high-powered offense to Bowling Green prior to the 2014 season, winning back-to-back MAC East titles and possessing one of the most efficient and explosive offenses in the country. Falcons quarterback Matt Johnson leads the nation with 4,465 passing yards and is second with 41 touchdowns.

Babers would join fellow former Briles assistant Philip Montgomery in the AAC. Montgomery was hired by Tulsa prior to the 2015 season, going 6-6 and getting the Golden Hurricane bowl eligible for the first time since 2012.

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/11/29/9816248/dino-babers-ucf-head-coach

Lest we forget, Kent State football has been terrible for years and years. Then Kent State has one good season with Darrell Hazell. Now I credit Hazell and his staff for doing an awesome job in 2012 for sure, but to be honest many things were in Hazell's favor. He arrived with above average talent. For example, Hazell had Dri Archer as a running back and return specialist and had an experienced quarterback in Spencer Keith, along with experienced offensive linemen Brian Winters, Josh Kline, and Kent Cleveland. On defense, Hazell had Roosevelt Nix, Luke Batton, and Luke Wollet.

In 2012, Akron was a 1-11 team, with its lone win against Morgan State, and Ohio lost four of its last five regular season games. By the time the Bobcats played Kent State, Ohio had three more players go down with serious injuries, and had lost 10 players who were projected as starters when the season began to injuries. Certainly this year, both Akron and Ohio were much better than they were in 2012 when Kent State played them and with the exception of Northern Illinois, a team the Flashes played in the 2012 MAC championship game, no one on the schedule was nearly as good as Toledo or Bowling Green this season.

I'm just as disappointed as anyone about the team's non-existent offense but I can't say Coach Haynes is a bad head coach because the fact is we just don't know yet. With a zero offense he won three games and had two conference wins. And if it were not for two controversial personal foul penalties, the Flashes would more than likely not have lost in double overtime to Marshall.

Considering the strength of the team's defense, it's only fair to give him a chance to improve the offense. Let's see what happens next year. I fear the offense will not get a lot better unless a junior college quarterback is recruited. If the offense doesn't show considerable improvement it may be hard to justify hanging onto Haynes. But I can't see after three years how he can or should be let go. This is Kent State football folks and it will always be hard to win here. As Haynes states in the Akron post-game press conference, we thought that we fixed it in 2012 but we didn't. We just had a good year like we have every 25 years. Haynes is trying to build a program but it will take time to build one. I just hope he is given enough time to complete the mission.

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Mizzou and Alabama were at the top of the SEC in 2014, both coaches Gary Pinkel and Nick Saban can attribute a lot of their success to their coach at Kent State Don James. These two disciples continue to live out James' legacy every day in their football programs.

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