Coach Burns Finalizes Coaching Staff
2/7/2023 10:00:00 AM | Football
KENT- Golden Flashes' head football coach Kenni Burns has finalized his coaching staff, adding seven new members to the Kent GRIT family.
These new members of the Kent GRIT family join CJ Cox, Colin Ferrell, Jeremiah Johnson and Matt Johnson on Coach Burns' staff. Here is a look at the new members of the staff (in alphabetical order)
Mark Carney | Tight Ends Coach
Carney comes to Kent State after four seasons with the Charlotte 49ers including serving as the offensive coordinator for each of the last three seasons. In his three seasons at the helm of the 49ers' offense, Charlotte averaged nearly 400 yards of offense. In his first season in Charlotte, he helped lead the 49ers to a school record for wins (7) and a trip to the Bahamas Bowl.
Prior to his time in Charlotte, Carney was the offensive coordinator at Virginia State. In his four seasons, the Trojans went 29-12 including a 2017 CIAA title with a perfect 7-0 league record.
He also has stops as the offensive coordinator at Baldwin-Wallace in 2014 and coached wide receivers at Bowling Green for five years. During his time with the Falcons, Bowling Green went to three bowl games. Carney also coached quarterbacks and wide receivers at Richmond from 2004-08, helping the Spiders reach the FCS playoffs three times including the 2008 FCS National Championship game.
Carney got his coaching start at his alma mater, Fordham, serving as a student assistant in 2002-03 after his playing career. He was a four-year letter winner for the Rams, earning All-Patriot League and honorable mention All-America honors at quarterback.
Mark and his wife Sarah have three children, Devyn, Marcus and Andrew.
Dave Duggan | Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach
Duggan comes to Kent State from Troy University where he has served as the Trojans' Director of Recruiting since 2012 and has coaching stops at Arkansas State, Western Michigan, Souther Mississippi, North Carolina and NFL Europe.
Duggan was the defensive coordinator at Arkansas State for two seasons and served as the Red Wolves' interim head coach during the 2019 campaign. During his time at Arkansas State, the Red Wolves won eight games in 2019 including the Camellia Bowl. His defense forced 19 turnovers and ranked second in the Sun Belt in red zone defense.
With the Broncos, Duggan served as the linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for three seasons. In his first year, Western Michigan went 13-0 during the regular season and finished 12th in the final rankings. During his time in Kalamazoo, six of his student-athletes were named All-MAC and a pair of linebackers went on to sign NFL free agent contracts.
Prior to Western Michigan, Duggan was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Southern Miss, his second stint in Hattiesburg. In 2015, he helped engineer one of the best FBS turnarounds, helping the Golden Eagles go from 3-9 to 9-5 a season later. He was also in Hattiesburg from 2008-11 where he coached Jamie Collins who went on to a successful NFL career with the New England Patriots.
In 2012, Duggan was on the staff at North Carolina as the outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator. The Tar Heels went 8-4, its best mark since 1997, blocked three punts and had a kickoff return touchdown.
Outside of college football, Duggan had a successful run in NFL Europe. He served as the head coach of the Cologne Centurions for two of his six seasons overseas. Cologne led the league in both seasons as head coach and he won the 2001 and 2002 World Bowls on the Berlin Thunder staff.
Duggan is a graduate of New Hampshire where he played from 1982-86. He and his wife Lynne have two daughters, Olivia and Grace.
Nick Faus | Wide Receivers Coach
Faus comes to Kent from the University of Minnesota where he was a graduate assistant working with Golden Gophers' offensive skill positions. He helped position coaches with quarterback and wide receiver drills, broke down opponent film and helped with the game plan for the offensive coaching staff.
Prior to his time in Minneapolis, he spent a season as a graduate assistant with the West Virginia Mountaineers, working with the special teams' units. He also assisted with scouting reports and self-scouts for the coaching staff.
Faus also spent four seasons at Western Michigan University where he worked as a graduate assistant on both the Broncos' offensive and defensive coaching staffs. After three seasons on the defensive side of the ball, Faus spent the 2020 season working with the Bronco wide receivers. He helped design and execute drills during practice and oversaw the signaling and rotation for the receivers during the game.
Faus earned his undergraduate degree in exercise science from Saint Joseph's College and earned a Master's in Sports Management from Western Michigan.
Matt Limegrover | Co-Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach
Limegrover comes to Kent State after spending two seasons on the staff at Arkansas State, serving as the run-game coordinator and tight ends in 2022 and the offensive line in 2021. He arrives in Kent with over 30 years of college coaching experience that has seen him coach in 13 bowl games including three New Years' Six games (Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl). He also has won three Big 10 Championships, serving on the 2016 Penn State staff as well as the 1995 and 1996 Northwestern Wildcats.
During his time in Jonesboro, Limegrover coached Andre Harris Jr to All-Sun Belt honors. The Red Wolves' offense was 11th in the nation in passing at over 313 yards per game and posted over 500 yards on four different occasions.
Prior to Arkansas State, Limegrover was the offensive line coach at Penn State from 2016-19. During that span the Nittany Lions' won the 2016 Big 10 title, posted a 42-11 record and posted wins in the 2019 Cotton Bowl and 2017 Fiesta Bowl. He also served as the run-game coordinator for the 2018 season and helped the Nittany Lions' set numerous offensive records during the 2016 season including points scored, passing offense and total offense.
Before his time in Happy Valley, Limegrover spent five seasons at Minnesota as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. He held the title of assistant head coach during his final two seasons. The Golden Gophers made three consecutive bowl games in his final three seasons, including eight-win campaigns in 2013 and 14.
Limegrover's time in Minnesota was part of his 16 seasons working under former Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill. Stops on Kill's staff included Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois and Emporia State. He served as the offensive line coach and/or the offensive coordinator for all 16 seasons.
While at Northern Illinois, Limegrover produced seven All-Mid-American Conference offensive lineman, including two first team selections in 2010. He helped the Huskies to three consecutive bowl berths and the 2010 MAC West title. The Husky line gave up only 15 sacks in 2009, when NIU also led the MAC and ranked 19th nationally in rushing with 202.4 yards per game.
Limegrover also made coaching stops at Ferris State (1997-98) as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator, Northwestern (1995-96) as a graduate assistant. He got his coaching start at his alma mater, the University of Chicago (1991-94) serving in a variety of roles, spanning interim head coach (1994), offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and tight ends coach.
As a student-athlete, Limegrover was a honorable mention all-conference player as a senior and played on the University of Chicago offensive line from 1987-1990. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in 1991 and a master's from Northwestern in 2000.
Limegrover and his wife, Ann, have one daughter, Emma, and a son, TJ.
Joe Manion- Director of Player Development/Personnel
Manion comes to Kent State from Harvard where he served as the Director of Football Operations and Recruiting. There he oversaw a six-figure recruiting budget and a national recruiting search. He also planned, operated and coordinated all aspect of recruiting visits both official and unofficial. On an operational level, Manion coordinated the day-to-day function and activity of the football program. It was his second stint at Harvard, he served as an Assistant Director of Football Operations and Recruiting for the 2019 season.
Prior to his time with the Crimson, Manion spent a year as the Director of Recruiting Operations for the United States Military Academy. There he created the Army evaluation pipeline for recruiting and managed the recruiting boards for a national recruiting search.
Manion also has stops at Villanova, James Madison and Nebraska where he worked in football operations and recruiting in a variety of capacities. He is a 2016 graduate from Saint Joseph's where he was a four-year member of the baseball team. He earned a Master's in Business from Nebraska in 2018.
CJ Robbins | Rush Ends Coach and Defensive Recruiting Coordinator
Robbins comes to the Golden Flashes from South Dakota where he coached outside linebackers last season. Prior to his time with the Coyotes, Robbins coached at Minnesota for two seasons, working with the rush ends and assisted with scout teams and recruiting evaluations. With the Gophers he worked with Boye Mafe and the aptly named Thomas Rush, who finished 1-2 in sacks for the Gophers in 2021 with 7.5 and 5.5, respectfully. Mafe was named All-Big 10 by multiple publications after the 2021 season.
Prior to his time with the Gophers, Robbins got his coaching start as a graduate assistant with the Miami Redhawks in 2019. There he helped the Redhawks capture the 2019 Mid-American Conference title and a spot in the Lending Tree Bowl. He worked on the defensive side of the ball and helped Kameron Butler earn All-MAC honors.
A Peru, Illinois native, Robbins is a 2015 graduate of Northwestern where he was a three-year starter for the Wildcats. He earned two academic All-Big 10 honors and was honored by the National Football Foundation with its Mental Toughness Award for his resiliency following a pair of season-ending injuries. He wrapped up his career in 2016 with a career-best 29 tackles including 5.5 for loss. He earned his bachelor's degree from Northwestern in 2015 and Master's in 2016. He signed a free agent deal with the Tennessee Titans following the 2017 draft.
Mark Watson Jr. | Running Backs Coach and Offensive Recruiting Coordinator
Watson comes to Kent State after serving the last three seasons as the wide receivers coach at Southern Illinois. During his three seasons with the Salukis, he coached an All-Conference wide receiver in each of his three seasons. In the 2021 spring season, Avante Cox earned All-America honors after leading the Missouri Valley in receiving.
Prior to his time in Carbondale, Watson was at South Dakota from 2016-19 as the defensive backs coach and head of player development. The Coyotes' picked off 43 passes in his four seasons. During his tenure, South Dakota qualified for the FCS playoffs for the first time and reached the round of 16.
Watson also has stops at Drake for the 2010 and 2011 seasons. In his two seasons with the Bulldogs, Drake led the Pioneer League in interceptions both seasons. He joined USC in 2012 as a graduate assistant for defensive backs. The Trojans were 41st in pass efficiency defense and 40th in scoring defense.
He returned to the offensive side of the ball in 2013, joining Western Illinois and coaching wide receivers in 2013 and 14. The Leathernecks posted three 1,000 yard receivers on the same 2014 team. In 2015, he coached the Western Illinois' secondary, helping the program return to the FCS playoffs after a five-season absence.
A St. Charles, Missouri native, Watson played at Missouri Southern and McPherson College in his career. He was a two-year starter at McPherson and team captain as a senior. He graduated from McPherson in 2010 with a degree in business management.
Mark and his wife Antheria have four children: Tatiana, Makayla, Amaya and Mark III.
