KSU's Media Day Predictions, A 2011 Football Commitment And More--Los Links!

Some news around the Flashes--

Kent State's athletic website was overhauled last week--check out the new layout.

Kent State was picked to finish third in the Mac East at the Mid-American Conference Media Day last Friday in Detroit. Akron was slated to finish last. Athlon Magazine also picked KSU to finish third, while Phil Steele has the Flashes tying Ohio University for second in the East. Steele also KSU earmarked as the eleventh most improved team in the country.

Senior linebacker Howard Bowens will be contributing to an open blog throughout the season. The first entry highlights a trip taken to a homeless shelter by Bowens and a couple of his Kent State football teammates.

Former KSU basketball player Anthony Simpson signed a deal to play for the Leicester Riders of the British Basketball League, the same school where Geno Ford launched his professional coaching career in 1997.

Jordan Tarver, a quarterback/athlete out of Georgia in the class of 2011, has given KSU a verbal commitment. He is the second commitment in the 2011 class for Head Coach Doug Martin, following quarterback Evan Shimensky from Theodore Kent Roosevelt High School.

Former KSU basketball star Antonio Gates signed a five-year, $36.175 million contract with the San Diego Chargers, making him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL. Gates will make $7.235 million per season, with $20.4 million of it guaranteed.