Flashes Welcome 25 Members for the 2012 Season

One year after assembling a recruiting class in three weeks, Kent State head football coach Darrell Hazell announced his 2012 recruiting class Wednesday.

This time around, Hazell and his coaching staff had an entire year to evaluate talent and recruit players to join the Golden Flashes.

"Today's a great day for Kent State University," Hazell said in his afternoon press conference. "These guys have impeccable character and can bring this university a championship team."

According to Hazell, the extra time made a significant difference.

"There are a lot of people who have put their efforts into making sure this was a superior class," Hazell said. "We feel like going in, there are no unanswered questions going in about guys like last year when we had three weeks to put together a class. There aren't any unanswered questions right now about any of these guys, and we think guys are fabulous in character and we really feel they can thrive in the classroom. We look for championship guys."

The 25-member recruiting class covers seven states, with 14 players hailing from the state of Ohio. Twenty different members of the class served as team captains in high school.

The Golden Flashes added 13 players on offense, 11 on defense and one on special teams. The offensive signees include two quarterbacks, two running backs, two wide receivers, one athlete, two tight ends and four offensive linemen. The defensive commitments consist of three defensive linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs.

In addition to the 14 Ohio signees, Kent State added players from California, Texas, Florida, Maryland, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

C.J. Brathwaite	RB	West Bloomfield, Mich.	West Bloomfield
James Brooks	WR	Groveland, Fla.	South Lake
Denzell Burton	LB	Cleveland, Ohio	Glenville
Charles Chandler	WR	Columbus, Ohio	St. Francis DeSales
Kyle Crum	TE	Minerva, Ohio	Minerva
Matthew Dellinger	LB	Clarkston, Mich.	Clarkston
Julian Durden	RB	McKees Rocks, Pa.	Montour
Brice Fackler	TE	Kenton, Ohio	Kenton
Chris Fairchild	DT	Oak Hill, Ohio	Oak Hill
David Fisher	QB	Oceanside, Calif.	Palomar C.C.
Tad France	OL	Elyria, Ohio	Elyria
Jordan Italiano	S	Canfield, Ohio	Canfield
Jake Kincaid	DE	Pickerington, Ohio	Pickerington Central
Colton Kmetz	OLB	Ijamsville, Md.	Urbana
Adam Maxie	DB	Westlake, Texas	Covenant Christian
Anthony Melchiori	P/K	Aurora, Ohio	Aurora
Alex Nielsen	OL	Amherst, Ohio	Elyria Catholic
Jason O'Bryan	DB	Madison, Ohio	Madison
Colin Reardon	QB	Poland, Ohio	Seminary
Reno Reda	DE	Pataskala, Ohio	Watkins Memorial
Kerrick Rhone	DB	Pflugerville, Texas	Hendrickson
Jamal Roberts	DB	Dale City, Fla.	Zephyrhills
Keenan Stalls	DB	Tampa, Fla.	Plant
Jake Witucki	OL	Natrona Hts., Pa.	Highlands
William Woods	ATH	Cleveland, Ohio	Shaw

Denzell Burton

6-1 • 205 lbs • Linebacker • Cleveland,Ohio • Glenville

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"He's a superb kid. They played him at defensive end out of necessity, but he's going to play linebacker for us. A guy that has great range and runs sideline-to-sideline. He has the ability to make big plays for us.""

Notables: Helped Glenville to four Senate League titles and a Division I state championship game appearance in his junior year...Was a Senate League All-Star and team captain as a senior...Also played basketball at Glenville.

Stats: Finished with 200 career tackles, 10 sacks and two interceptions…Also ran for 450 yards and six touchdowns.

Brice Fackler

6-4 • 215 lbs • Tight End • Kenton,Ohio • Kenton

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"He's a tough guy and ended up scoring four touchdowns in the state championship game…He's got a great combination of speed, strength and toughness and could help us right away."

Notables: All-Western Buckeye League First-Team selection as a senior...2011 Defensive Player of the Year in NBL...Four-year letterwinner in football, as well as three years in basketball and baseball for Kenton…Brother of Kent State defensive end Mark Fackler.

Stats: Caught four passes for 178 yards and four touchdowns in Kenton's loss to Creston Norwayne in the Division-4 State title game...Made 12 touchdown catches as a senior...totaled 79 career receptions for 1,322 yards and 22 touchdowns...Recorded 179 tackles and four interceptions as a senior...totaled 463 career tackles and 16 interceptions.

Jake Kincaid

6-2 • 245 lbs • Defensive End • Pickerington,Ohio • Central

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Jake is probably going to be playing what we call our LEO spot. He's athletic for a big guy, moves around and has tremendous balance. You watch him engage a block and get off a block...Very physical."

Notables: All-Central District second-team selection in 2011…Second team all-state selection as a senior, as well as first team All-Ohio Cardinal Conference… Led the Central Tigers to an 11-3 record and an appearance in the OHSAA Division-I State title game...Lettered on three straight conference championship teams.

Stats: Opponents averaged less than 80 rushing yards against Kincaid and the Tigers.

Keenan Stalls

6-0 • 175 lbs • Cornerback • Tampa, Fla. • Plant

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"He's the only corner on the roster that has won back-to-back state championships from two different states. He won one in North Carolina and then moved to a very prominent football program in Tampa and won his second. He had to beat out some people to get into the lineup to win his second state championship. He's very humble and is going to be a stellar player for us."

Notables: Named to the Tampa Bay Times' 2011 All-Suncoast second team defense. Led the Panthers to the Florida 8A State Championship, defeating Miramar 31-20.

Stats: Finished the 2011 season with six interceptions, 19 pass deflections, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, 66 total tackles and one sack.

Colton Kmetz

6-5 • 220 lbs • Outside Linebacker • Ijamsville, Md. • Urbana

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Colton is a kid that played in the Crab Bowl, which is the best players in Maryland...A great pass rusher. He has a knack of slipping offensive lineman coming underneath the block, coming around the block, beating the block and getting to the quarterback. That's probably his biggest strength."

Notables: Consensus first team All-Maryland selection as a junior and senior…First team All-Monocacy Valley Athletic League...Named outstanding performer in Maryland 2011 Crab Bowl by Rivals.Com...Member of 13-0 state championship team as a junior...Also lettered in lacrosse.

Stats: Recorded 16 sacks and three blocked punts in 2011...Had 21 sacks as a junior, as well as 52 tackles for a loss.

William Woods

5-9 • 175 lbs • Athlete • Cleveland,Ohio • Shaw

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"William is a guy we thought we had to have in the program because of his athletic ability. He's another kid that played quarterback, can play (defensive back), can play receiver. But just a very explosive, quick guy. I think he'll be a great asset to this football program.

Notables: All-Ohio Honorable Mention selection following his senior season that saw him playing multiple spots on the football field…Also lettered in basketball and track…Shaw's all-time assist leader as a guard for the basketball team.

Adam Maxie

6-2 • 175 lbs • Defensive Back • Westlake, Texas • Covenant Christian Academy

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Adam is going to start out as a corner for us. He's a 6-foot-2, long-armed guy who is very physical.

Notables: First team All-Texas selection as both a junior and senior...Father Brett played in the NFL and is currently the defensive backs coach for the Tennessee Titans.

Stats: Recorded 137 tackles, one forced fumble and five pass breakups in 2011…Totaled 117 tackles, 18 pass breakups and three interceptions as a junior in 2010.

Reno Reda

6-5 • 250 lbs • Defensive End • Pataskala, Ohio • Watkins Memorial

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"He's very large with very long arms," Hazell said. "He mostly played at the tackle spot and could easily slip into a left tackle spot because his feet are so good. He's got such great leverage, strength, range and power."

Notables: All-Ohio Capital Conference, All-Region, All-District and All-region MVP selection…Team captain for Watkins Memorial in 2011...Lettered three years in football and baseball.

Stats: Recorded 70 tackles and eight sacks as a junior for the Warriors.

Jason O'Bryan

6-3 • 195 lbs • Safety • Madison,Ohio • Madison

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Jason might be the biggest hitter of the bunch. He's a bigger safety that runs well, returns well and explodes into people when he hits them. When you watch his film, all you see are big hits all over the place."

Notables: As a team captain in 2011, O'Bryan was voted the team's Most Valuable Player was an all-county selection and was a first team All-Patriot Athletic Conference selection...Named to the all-county team and All-PAC First Team as a junior.

Stats: Recorded 50 tackles, 11 pass breakups and two interceptions in 2011…Also caught 28 passes for 432 yards and totaled seven touchdowns as a receiver.

Julian Durden

5-8 • 170 lbs • Running Back • McKees Rock, Pa. • Montour

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Julian is another guy playing in the Big 33 game for the Pennsylvania side. He's very explosive, quick and has tremendous vision. He has the top-end speed to take it 80 yards. He's a small guy but he's tough."

Notables: First team All-Parkway Conference, first team All-Pennsylvania selection as a senior...Named to Pittsburgh Post Gazette's Fabulous 22 team and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review's Terrific 25 all-star teams.

Stats: Finished 2011 season with 2,104 yards and 32 touchdowns…Ran for 159 yards and four touchdowns in Montour's first Class AAA State Championship…Rushed for 2,033 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior.

Charles Chandler

6-3 • 185 lbs • Wide Receiver • Columbus, Ohio • St. Francis DeSales

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Charles is a bigger receiver. He goes up and attacks the football. He plays way outside of his body, which means he has tremendous range. Has the ability to make the tough catch, but also the ability to break a tackle with his big frame."

Notables: First team All-Central District selection in 2011...All-District, honorable mention All-State and All-Central Catholic League selection…Also lettered three years in basketball.

Stats: Led the Stallions with 609 receiving yards and five touchdowns as a senior…Also recorded 17.5 tackles and four interceptions in 2011 as a defensive back.

C.J. Brathwaite

5-7 • 185 lbs • Running Back • West Bloomfield, Mich. • West Bloomfield

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"C.J. has unbelievable lateral quickness and unbelievable strength. He breaks a lot of tackles, leaves a lot of guys grasping for air because of his great quickness and superb vision."

Notables: Named team MVP in 2011…Named a Michigan Blue Chip Athlete by the Detroit Free Press…Also played slot receiver and returned kickoffs...Was the team's leading rusher as a junior despite only playing in five games.

Stats: Ran for 1,300 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior, including five in one game.

Chris Fairchild

6-2 • 300 lbs • Defensive Tackle • Oak Hill, Ohio • Oak Hill

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Chris is a big guy. He's very physical and commands the double team. If you don't double-team him, you're in trouble. He's going to be able to beat the single block. You can see him running down the line—for a big guy he runs extremely well."

Notables: First team All-Southern Ohio Conference in 2011, first team all-district and second team All-Ohio selection as a senior...First team All-SOC, first team All-District and third team All-Ohio as a junior...Also lettered two years in basketball and track.

Stats: Recorded 72 tackles and three sacks as a senior…Broke school's single-game record with 20 tackles...led the Oaks to a 11-2 record with 83 tackles and 12 sacks in 2010.

Anthony Melchiori

5-11 • 185 lbs • Kicker/Punter • Aurora, Ohio • Aurora

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Anthony's a tremendous athlete but we're going to utilize him as a kicker and punter and have him battle for jobs there."

Notables: Selected as a wide receiver in the Ohio North-South All-Star Game and the Big 33 team...Chagrin Valley Conference Offensive MVP and first team wide receiver…two-time receiver of the year at Aurora...Three-year letterwinner in football, as well as two years in track and one in basketball at Aurora…Father, Ray, played football for Kent State.

Stats: Made 6-of-8 field goals and 63-of-68 point after attempts...Recorded 716 receiving yards for seven touchdowns, two kick returns for touchdowns and 22 tackles and two interceptions as a senior in 2011.

Kerrick Rhone

5-11 • 175 lbs • Defensive Back • Pflugerville, Texas • Hendrickson

Hazell's quick thoughts:

""Kerrick is a very quick and explosive player. He's a very bright guy, you can tell he studies the game, digests things on the football field and is very physical. He's a great tackler and has a knack for playing the ball."

Notables: Second team all-district cornerback and academic all-district selection as a senior…Team won eight games and advanced to the second round of the playoffs in 2011.

Stats: Recorded 35 tackles, 20 breakups and two forced fumbles as a senior.

Alex Nielsen

6-4 • 260 lbs • Offensive Line • Amherst, Ohio • Elyria Catholic

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Alex is another guy that is a really good athlete," Hazell said. "He is a very good hockey player as well. He's a very tough guy, very serious about being great, smart guy and maybe one of the smartest guys on the whole team."

Notables: Three-year starter at Elyria Catholic…Named first team All-North Coast League, all-county and all-district in 2011...Also All-Ohio Second Team as a senior...Earned all-conference and all-county first team honors and all-district second team honors as a junior...Was also a four-year letterwinner in both ice hockey and track & field...Was a team captain in all three sports.

Jamal Roberts

5-10 • 170 lbs • Defensive Back • Dale City, Fla. • Zephyrhills

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Jamal's another guy from just North of Tampa who can do so many things. He was a quarterback for them and a great athlete for them. But out of necessity, went out there in the cornerback. He's a very, very talented and very bright guy."

Notables: District MVP as a senior...First team All-North Suncoast pick, a Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star and All-Conference selection for football and track...Placed second at districts last year in the 100 meters as a sprinter (11.15 seconds)...Also lettered in baseball.

Stats: Threw for six touchdowns and 542 yards, while rushing for 1,276 yards and 23 touchdowns as a senior

James Brooks

5-10 • 200 lbs • Wide Receiver • Groveland, Fla. • South Lake

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"He's lightning quick and has the ability to make people miss before and after the catch. He's got great hands and great ball skills."

Notables: Offensive MVP at Elite Scouting Services Combine prior to senior year…Named standout performer by Rivals.com at Tallahassee Nike Camp in Summer 2011…Transferred to South Lake from Forest High School (Ocala, Fla.) following junior year...Also competed in track & field.

Stats: Threw for 645 yards as a senior and also played receiver, finishing with 41 catches for 537 yards and 15 total touchdowns...Played eight different positions in one game.

Kyle Crum

6-5 • 210 lbs • Tight End • Minerva, Ohio • Minerva

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"They detached him a lot from the formation because he could create matchups on safeties. He's very fast, good ball skills, able to run after the catch and he's got an unbelievable career as a tight end here. He's very athletic, makes one handed catches, has great body control and plays extremely well."

Stats: Recorded 81 receptions for 1,494 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2011…29 receptions for 599 yards as a junior…Set single game receiving record in first varsity start.

Notables: All-county, all-league, all-District and honorable mention all-state selection as a senior...Led Minerva to an undefeated season in 2011 (10-0)…Earned all-conference and all-ditrcit third team honors as a junior...Also lettered in track for four years…State runner-up in long jump in Spring 2011.

Jordan Italiano

5-10 • 195 lbs • Safety • Canfield, Ohio • Canfield

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"I think he was our first commit... You talk about a downhill guy, he's that extra hat in the box that comes down and smacks you. He's another very smart guy who sees the field well and gets guys lined up. He's going to be a great local guy for us."

Stats: Led Cardinals' defense with 69 tackles and three interceptions in 2011...Threw for 659 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing 149 times for 1,038 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior. Recorded 81 tackles, eight pass breakups and one fumble recovery in 2010.

Notables: Started at quarterback and defensive back for the Cardinals…First team all-conference, first team All-Northeast Ohio, second team All-Ohio and Big 33 selection in 2011 as Canfield's Offensive MVP...Voted as team's Offensive MVP and Defensive Back of the Year…Lettered three years in football and two years in basketball for the Cardinals.

Colin Reardon

6-1 • 195 lbs •Quarterback • Poland, Ohio • Seminary

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Exceptional quarterback for us. Great accuracy, great ball- timing, stands in there but he's able to pull it down and run with it when he gets in trouble."

Stats: Passed for 1,100 yards, ran for 278 yards and scored 10 touchdown as the Bulldogs' starting quarterback in 2011.

Notables: Named All-Ohio first team punter and recorded 30 tackles with four interceptions as a defensive back for Poland…Three-year letter winner in football, basketball, baseball and band…1,000-career point scorer for the Bulldogs' basketball team.

Matt Dellinger

6-2 • 205 lbs •Linebacker • Clarkston, Mich. • Clarkston

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Matt's a very instinctive, fast linebacker who scrapes from tackle to tackle and makes plays all over the place. "Matt is a phenomenal football player and one of my favorite players in this class."

Stats: Recorded 85 tackles, three interceptions, three blocked field goals and five forced fumbles as a senior in 2011...Recorded 70 tackles and 370 receiving yards as a slot receiver as a junior.

Notables: All-OAA Red Division selection as a senior…Earned All-OAA Red Division and All-Area Honorable Mention as a junior in 2010... Three-year letter winner in football, four years in basketball and one in lacrosse.

Tad France

6-4 • 265 lbs • Offensive Line• Elyria, Ohio • Elyria H.S.

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"He's got so much potential to be a good football player for us," Hazell said. "He's a 6-3, 260-pound guy that's athletic. Once he gets his hands on you, you're finished. He's got great feet and plays smart."

Stats: Recorded 43 pancakes and allowing two sacks as a senior…Blocked at 90% efficiency and allowed just two sacks as a junior in 2010

Notables: First team All-Northeast Ohio Conference, first team all-county, and second team All-Ohio...Led the Pioneers to a 7-3 record in 2011.

Jake Witucki

6-5 • 283 lbs • Offensive Line • Natrona Hts, Pa. • Highlands

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"Jake may be the closest right now to being college-ready," Hazell said. "Very strong, brings a lot of power, has a tremendous punch and is able to block guys at the second level."

Notables: First team Greater Allegheny All-Conference selection…Named to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's North Fabulous-22 roster in 2011…Three-year starter for Highlands ….led his team to a 7-3 record in 2011...Also lettered two years in track and one year apiece in baseball and basketball.

David Fisher

6-1 • 215 lbs • Quarterback • Oceanside, Calif. • Palomar C.C.

Hazell's quick thoughts:

"I think the biggest thing is his charisma, his toughness and his ability to lead. He's always got great composure when he's on the field."

Stats: Completed 184-of-333 passes for 2,539 yards, 27 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He also ran for 403 yards and seven touchdowns.

Notables: Currently enrolled at Kent State. Named National Southern Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2011…Helped Palomar to a 7-4 record and an appearance in the Southern California Community College semifinals.

Kent State's 2012 spring practices begin on March 27, culminating with the spring game on April 21.