July 10, 2012

Jeremy Birmingham
KentStateReport.com Staff Writer

The college football calendar shows that we are inside of two months before Kent State looks to build on its 5-7 record in the 2011 season with a Thursday night opener against Towson to start off year two of the Darrell Hazell era at Kent State. There were plenty of highlights to go with last year's season but the team came up short in a quest to becoming bowl eligible and will be looking to build upon that.

As a team the Golden Flashes will return 16 starters but will have some big voids to fill with the losses of Jacquise Terry, Chris Gilbert and Sam Kirkland just to name a few offensive skill players that will be gone.

We're taking a look at what Kent State will have to work with moving forward with fall camp less than a month away. We started at all-important quarterback spot last week, and now we continue with a look at running back. The tailback position returns three of the team's top four ball carriers, giving head coach Darrell Hazell a number of options in his evolving offense.

The Returning Starter

Trayion Durham As a freshman in 2011, Durham played in all 12 games and led the Golden Flashes with 187 carries, 630 yards and four rushing touchdowns. At a bruising 6-foot-tall and 260 pounds, Durham bulldozed his way into the lineup last year and will likely stay there as the starter for Kent State this fall. He set a career-high with 107 yards and two touchdowns in the Flashes 35-3 trouncing of rival Akron on 24 carries, which his second-highest total of the season; he carried it 27 times against South Alabama.

The Cincinnati Colerain product chose Kent State after verbally committing to Wisconsin. One of the nation's best fullbacks coming out of high school, he opted for Kent State because they were willing to give him a shot at tailback; and as long as he stays healthy he should continue to get a bulk of the Golden Flashes carries.

The Next Wave

Anthony Meray

The second of three freshman tailbacks that were a part of the offense a year ago, Meray finished third on the Golden Flashes with 66 carries in the 10 games that he saw action. His season-high 64 yards came on 13 carries against South Alabama, but he was racked up 47 yards on only 10 attempts against Kansas State. He scored the first two touchdowns of his career against South Alabama as well.

A Spanaway (Wash.) native, the 5-foot-7, 190 pound Meray averaged 3.63 yards per carry as a freshman, the second-highest total for Coach Hazell's team behind departed senior Jacquise Terry. With a 4.47 40-time, Meray has the speed to be a difference maker out of the backfield for Kent State as a pass-catcher as well as a change-of-pace back from the battering ram style of Durham. With an experienced quarterback running the show, expect the Golden Flashes to find a way to utilize each of their skill sets effectively.

Tristin Boykin

Boykin, a 6-foot-tall, 190 pound redshirt freshman from Centerville will look to find carries in an offense that likes to spread the ball around. What he does with those opportunities will ultimately dictate how much he remains in the offensive gameplan. At Centerville, Boykin was a main cog in one of the state's best offensive programs, often being targeted out of the backfield as a receiving threat. He was named First Team All-Conference as a senior for the Elks. Can the Flashes find a way to get this talented player into the running and passing mix?

The Newcomers

C.J. Brathwaite

Brathwaite is a 5-foot-7, 175-pound tailback from West Bloomfield (Mich.) that committed to Washington State in November of 2011. When Mike Leach took over the helm in Pullman, Brathwaite was informed that he should begin looking elsewhere as the Cougars wanted to secure more "local" talent. Now scrambling for a place to land, Brathwaite was offered by Arizona State but chose to stay a bit closer to home himself and play for the Golden Flashes.

With a highlight tape that shows half bowling ball and half pinball, Brathwaite's unique skills will give him a chance to get on the field early for the Flashes as a slot receiver, out of the backfield or possibly returning kicks.

Julian Durden

From fabled Montour High School in McKees Rocks (Pa.), Durden is another very talented and versatile back that could find a way into the rotation this fall for Kent State. He turned down a scholarship offer from home-state schools Pittsburgh and Temple among others to commit to the Flashes. At 5-foot-8 and 165-pounds, Durden is quick and elusive and is versatile enough to be involved in the passing game.

For both Durden and Brathwaite, it is likely to come down to how quickly they are able to pick up the playbook and how well they adjust to the rigors of college life, if they are able to make those adjustments, it might be hard to keep both of them off the field.

The X-Factors

Dri Archer

Listed as the second-string tailback on Kent State's post-spring game depth chart, Archer missed all of the 2011 due to academic issues. Now back on the roster, Archer provides experience in a running game that lacks it, as well as excellent pass catching out of the backfield and in the slot. With purported 4.3 speed, Archer brings an exciting element to a Kent State offense that struggled at times a year ago.

With four starters returning on an offensive line that only allowed five total sacks in the final five games of the 2011 season, look for Kent State to try and take some pressure off the shoulders of Spencer Keith and incoming JUCO QB David Fisher by turning the offense over to an increasingly talented stable of running backs.