Kent State is ready to turn the ship around.
The Golden Flashes ranked last in a bevy of statistical categories in 2024 and most notably concocted the only imperfect season in the FBS. After suffering through the first 0-12 campaign by any FBS team since 2019, Kent State saw an offseason filled with sweeping changes.
One of those changes was the addition of quarterback CJ Montes, who transferred in from Fordham of the FCS — the same school Kent State’s interim head coach Mark Carney played quarterback from 1998-01.
Montes reached incredible heights in his first season at Fordham in 2023, earning All-Patriot League honors and landing as a finalist for the Walter Payton Award distributed annually to the FCS’s best player. Montes threw for 2,997 yards with a jaw-dropping touchdown-to-interception ratio of 27-to-1 that year, throwing 309 yards and five touchdowns in a massive upset victory over Buffalo.
Montes prepared for a similar 2024, but a season-ending lower body injury in the third game diminished his availability. He arrives at Kent State with 14 games of FCS starting experience, but that’s not the extent of his college career. Prior to Fordham, Montes spent two seasons at New Mexico, logging seven games of action and two starts. He accrued 213 passing yards during his time as a Lobo, and after dominating the FCS level, Montes is ready to return as an FBS starter to Kent State.
Montes won the job over Kent State’s incumbent starter Devin Kargman as well as backups Ruel Tomlinson and Dru DeShields. Kargman started the first four contests of the 2024 season but suffered a gruesome hip injury in Week 4 at Penn State. He immediately underwent surgery and missed the remainder of the year, accounting for 432 passing yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions on a 54.9 completion percentage prior to the procedure. Tomlinson earned one start in November and totaled 11-of-28 for 73 passing yards and two interceptions across four outings. Meanwhile, DeShields has yet to handle a snap after missing the entirety of his true freshman season due to injury.
Under Montes, Kent State aims to progress an offense which ranked 134th nationally in points per game, total offense, first downs, and third down conversion percentages. The Golden Flashes fielded the country’s 125th-ranked passing game, completing attempts at a 47.3 percent clip — third-to-last in the FBS. Montes hopes to sustain his efficiency from his Fordham days to make those numbers a thing of the past. He’ll earn his first start in Kent State colors when the Golden Flashes host Merrimack of the FCS on Saturday, Aug. 30, hoping to snap the FBS’s longest losing streak at 21 games.
