Kent State University
Illinois
FlashFAST Era Kicks Off Saturday at Illinois
8/28/2018 3:01:00 PM | Football
Game Notes  Golden Flashes Radio   Live Stats
The new FlashFAST era begins Saturday, when Kent State kicks off its 96th season of football at Illinois. Â The 2018 season opener gets underway at noon (Eastern) inside Memorial Stadium on Big Ten Network. Â The Golden Flashes will display new looks on both offense and defense as they point toward Saturday as the first step in a resurgence of the football program.
Facts In A Flash
• Senior inside linebacker Jim Jones earned All-MAC First Team honors in 2017, after leading the Flashes with 98 tackles and 6.0 sacks.Â
• In December, Sean Lewis (now 32) became the youngest FBS head coach.Â
• In two seasons, junior running back Justin Rankin has over 1,000 rushing yards, 646 receiving yards and nine total touchdowns.Â
• After a one-year absence, fifth-year senior Kalil Morris returns to the Flashes.  The 322-pound nose tackle will anchor a new 3-4 defense.
 • After a two-year absence, wide receiver Antwan Dixon returns to the field, following a long life-threatening battle with aplastic anemia.Â
• Junior center Nate Warnock recently earned the No. 54 jersey, honoring the late Jason Bitsko.
• Junior defensive back Jamal Parker finished fourth in the MAC in passes defended last season. He also has four career interceptions.
• Junior punter Derek Adams was named to the Ray Guy Award Watch List for the second straight season.  Adams was an All-MAC Second Team selection in 2017.
• Senior linebacker Matt Bahr was named to the Wuerffel Trophy Watch List.Â
• Bahr, Parker, Elvis Hines, Will Matthews and Nick Faulkner were honored with single-digit jerseys.
• Kent State returns 11 players who have earned Academic All-MAC honors in their career and two MAC Distinguished Scholar Athletes.
All-Time Series
Illinois won the only meeting of the series in 2015. Originally scheduled for a Friday night season opener, a major lightning storm forced the postponement of the game until Saturday, when the Illini jumped out to a 28-0 first quarter lead on the way to a 52-3 victory. Â Current seniors Raekwon James and Johnny Woods each made the first two catches of their careers. Â Jim Jones made his first three career tackles.
TV/Video/Radio
Saturday's game can be seen on Big Ten Network and BTN2GO with Mike Monaco (play-by-play) and J Leman (analyst). Â The game can be heard live on 640 WHLO and the free Golden Flashes Radio channel on iHeartRadio. Â Ty Linder will handle the play-by-play duties and will be joined by ninth-year color analyst Rob Polinsky. Â Jacob Pavilack will be on the sideline. Â By 2017, iHeartRadio reached over 100 million registered users.
The Coaches
• Sean Lewis returns to his home state of Illinois Saturday for his head coaching debut.  As a sophomore in high school, Lewis competed in the state championship game at Memorial Stadium.  Just a few years later he competed in his first Big Ten game as a player at Wisconsin inside Memorial Stadium. Lewis spent the previous two seasons as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Syracuse.  He served in the same position under Dino Babers for two seasons at Bowling Green, helping the Falcons to a MAC title and two bowl appearances. Lewis also coached at Eastern Illinois, Akron and Nebraksa Omaha.
• Lovie Smith (Tulsa '80) is in his third season at Illinois, following a 19-year stint in the NFL.  In 11 years as an NFL head coach with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Smith has won three division titles, made two NFC championship game appearances and one Super Bowl appearance.  Smith also made a Super Bowl appearance as defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, where he spent three seasons.  Prior to the NFL, Smith coached 14 seasons at the college level, including Big Ten experience at Wisconsin and Ohio State.
A New Tradition
When Sean Lewis began meeting with the team in January, he took away all single digit jerseys. Â Only players that met the team's Golden Standard on and off the field would earn a single digit. Â On the morning of the spring game, linebacker Matt Bahr and defensive back Elvis Hines became the first two players to gain the honor. Â Following preseason camp, defensive back Jamal Parker, running back Will Matthews and outside linebacker Nick Faulkner joined the elite group.
• On Tuesday, Bahr, Parker, Matthews and Faulkner were named team captains for the season.
