Year three of the Kenni Burns era has begun with 23 commits and 156.15 points, which is good enough for fourth in the Mid-American Conference, according to 247Sports. The average point value for each recruit so far is 83.72, which is tied for fourth in the conference.
The 23 commits are second in the Mid-American Conference behind only Northern Illinois’ 27.
“Today is an awesome day for the football world and especially Kent State football,” coach Kenni Burns said. “We signed a talented recruiting class. A class that will go down as the highest-ranked class in program history, which is awesome to see. Last year we had an outstanding class, one of the top in program history, and this one, when it’s all said and done, should beat that one and end up in the top three in the MAC.”
There was no shortage of players who stood out on their high school teams and conferences.
“The 2025 class had two state championship winners, one guy who played for the state championship, 20 players receiving all-conference (honors), 15 players receiving all-district and region (honors), seven named to all-state. The class had over 150 touchdowns this season, and it had over 650 tackles on the season,” Burns said.
The program also signed a variety of positions as well.
“Offensively, we signed a quarterback, two running backs, two receivers, two tight ends and four O-linemen,” Burns said. “Defensively, we signed three linebackers, two safeties, one corner, one rush and one defensive tackle. Specials-wise, we had one kicker/punter that we signed, as well.”
Nearly half of the class came from the state of Ohio, while most others came from the Midwest region. The team, however, was able to dip its hands down south and grab a couple recruits from the Sun Belt region.
“When you look at where we went to get these guys from, 10 guys from the state of Ohio, which we’ve always said that’s where we want to hit first,” Burns said. “We had two from Pennsylvania, two from Illinois, two from New Jersey, one from Michigan, one from Kentucky, one from Indiana and two from Georgia.”
Deante Ruffin — Quarterback, Sts. Neumann and Goretti High School, Philadelphia, Pa.
“He’s a first-team all-conference player, and threw for over 1,400 yards. He had 476 yards rushing, 25 touchdowns, and 65% completion percentage,” Burns said. “This guy has a really strong arm. He’s a guy that has positional flexibility; he was recruited as a linebacker, as well. He makes tons of plays running with the ball, which is really exciting for us.”
Taryan Martin — Running Back, East St. Louis High School, East St. Louis, Il.
“A highly touted kid out of a program that has a rich tradition in East St. Louis, East St. Louis Senior High. They won the state championship this year, and this guy was a big reason why,” Burns said. “He was on the 2024 All-State team. He had over 700 yards rushing, and seven touchdowns. He has good size. He’s very patient and has good vision and good speed. He’s a one-cut-and-get-vertical guy. He runs behind his pads, we’re really excited about him.”
Anthony Jeffrey — Running Back, Thomson High School, Thomson, Ga.
“He’s 5’8” 190 pounds. He runs low to the ground, it’s really hard to get this guy down. When we did the study, every fourth run, he broke a tackle,” Burns said. “He was a First-Team All-Conference player, and he was a regional finalist. He’s a tough and decisive runner. He has a burst of great speed and good contact balance. He had seven games with multiple touchdowns and tied a school record for four touchdowns in a game, so this guy has big play potential, and that’s what I love about him.”
Teaunn Hunter — Receiver, Wayne High School, Dayton, Ohio
“He’s a First-Team All-Conference player. He had 31 receptions for 469 yards and seven touchdowns. This guy is dynamic. We had them at camp and got to see him alive,” Burns said. “He’s got fluid hips, gets in and out of his brakes, and has good top-end speed.”
Maurice Stepens — Receiver, Ballard High School, Louisville, Ky.
“This guy was a regional finalist and All-Conference player. He had 46 receptions for 700 yards and eight touchdowns. He is a big, long kid. If you watch his highlight tape, you understand what he does for us. He can stretch the field vertically, but with a big, long guy with long leverage and his outstanding reach, the ball is never dead,” Burns said.
Zy’Aire Fletcher — Tight End, Springfield High School, Springfield, Ohio
“He is 6’4” 214 pounds. Another guy we found at our mega camp. He was an All-Ohio nominee, First-Team All-District, First-Team All-Conference. This was his first airplane tight end,” Burns said. “In one year playing tight end, he had 26 catches for 322 yards and two touchdowns. He has very good length.”
Garrett Long — Tight End, Columbus East High School, Columbus, Ohio
“He was First-team All-Conference. He had 431 yards and six touchdowns. He had 40 tackles, so he played on both sides of the ball, and also three sacks. He has a big frame, he’s a big guy and he’s going to put a lot of weight on,” Burns said.
Kaden Mayle — Offensive Tackle, Fremont Ross High School, Fremont, Ohio
“He’s 6’5” 287 pounds. He’s a first team All-Ohio guy, First-Team All-District, First-Team All-Conference. He was the D–II Lineman of the Year in that area. He had a 91% blocking rate,” Burns said. “He’s a vicious run blocker, and that’s what we need.”
Boston Crowell — Offensive Tackle, New Philadelphia High School, New Philadelphia, Ohio
“Another guy who was a First-Team All-Conference player, First-Team All-District. He’s been a three-year starter at tackle. He’s also played D-lineman as well, so when you talk about physicality, he’s another guy that plays a very physical football. When you look at his defensive stats, he had 39 tackles and 12 tackles for loss,” Burns said.
Tyler Meadows — Offensive Tackle, Lakota East High School, Middletown, Ohio
“He’s all of 6’8” 320 pounds, All-Conference guy. This is the guy that you talk about when you ask why you evaluate senior film. When you watch his junior film, he was probably a little underdeveloped,” Burns said. “Then you see the growth he made his senior year, and it gets you really excited about this guy.”
Nate Cross — Offensive Guard, Hoban High School, Akron, Ohio
“He’s a nasty, physical O-lineman that plays a brand of football at Hoban that is one of toughness and physicality, and he started there for a couple of years. When that coach called us, he said to us, ‘Coach, this is the best lineman that I’ve ever coached,’ those were his words. We looked at the film and studied him, and we saw why,” Burns said. “He was a state Semi-Finalist, an All-Conference selection. He allowed zero sacks in 15 games. That is a really impressive stat.”
Darian Blachewicz — Defensive Lineman, Millville High School, Millville, N.J.
“He’s 6’2” 270. He was First-Team All-Conference, First-Team All-South Jersey. He had 66 tackles, nine TFL‘s, five sacks and one touchdown,” Burns said. “I’m excited about him. He’s a good player. He’s twitchy, he has good bend. He’s going to be a great player for us someday here at Kent State.”
Bryce Griffin — Edge Rusher, Yorkville High School, Yorkville, Il.
“He’s 6’2” 211. This guy has great movement skills. He could easily play linebacker, as well. He played rusher in high school. He was a First-Team conference player, defensive conference, MVP. He had 50 tackles, five sacks, 18 TFL’s and one touchdown,” Burns said. “I’m excited about Bryce, and I’m excited for him to become part of our family here.”
Rafael Terrero — Linebacker, Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pa.
“He’s 6’3” 211 pounds. He was a major vocal leader; that’s what his coach always told us about this year. As a junior (Terrero missed most of his senior year due to injury), he had over 50 tackles and six interceptions. He had 28 receptions for 372 yards and two touchdowns. He has a great frame and length – he’s a lengthy defender. He’s a physical tackler,” Burns said.
Trey Rubinstein — Linebacker, Napoleon High School, Napoleon, Ohio
“He’s 6’2” 190 pounds. When I say he can run, he can run run. He is a fast, fast guy, and a guy who you can see running both sides of the field. He was the defensive player of the year in conference and districts. He was a First-Team All-Conference receiver and DB. He’s going to play linebacker for us with that size. What that allows us to do is to get a more athletic linebacker,” Burns said. “He had over 1,000 yards all-purpose and 12 touchdowns on offense. He had 77 tackles on defense, 14 TFL’s and five interceptions. This guy is all over the place with stats. He had two defensive TDs, and three returned touchdowns on special teams He had two defensive TDs and three return touchdowns on special teams.”
Tanner Mintz — Linebacker, Hoban High School, Akron, Ohio
“He had 162 tackles, 29 TFL’s, 13 sacks and three interceptions. He’s an explosive, violent tackler. The thing I love about Tanner is that he has a tremendous football IQ. When you listen and talk with him, he is so much ahead of everyone else with his learning curve,” Burns said.
Derrick Jackson — Safety, Cass Technical High School, Detroit, Mi.
“Another guy who won the state championship this year. He’s 5’11” 180 pounds. He was an All-State selection and All-Regional selection, as well. He had over 50 tackles, seven interceptions and five PBU’s. He had a game where he had three interceptions. The guy has a knack for the ball and he has a playmaker. He has very fluid hips and good ball skills, and he has good speed,” Burns said.
Sean Leonard — Kicker, Xenia High School, Xenia, Ohio
“He’s 6’3” 220 pounds. I encourage you to go to his Twitter page. He has a 60-yard field goal or something crazy like that out there that he hit. He is a two-time All-Ohio and three-time All-District player. He had 61 points this season. He was five-for-five on field goals 46-for-47 on PAT’s (point after tries). He hit a school-record of a 69-yard punt, and he had 32 touchbacks. He has a very strong and accurate leg. I think he can do both for us – kick and punt – and I’m excited about him,” Burns said.
The Flashes also have a few recruits who have verbally committed, but will not sign until their high school season ends.
The new recruits, Burns and KSU football will hit the field again in the start of September to kick off the 2025 season.
“I want to thank our coaches for their diligent work and their attention to detail in this and staying active to build relationships with these young men. I want to thank all the young men and their families for trusting us with the next couple years of their life and their commitment to us, which is really cool for Kent State. I’m excited about this class and their potential and talent that they have,” Burns said. It’s really special, and to put that with the class that we signed a year ago, it only brings a bright future for Kent State and Kent State football.”
Demetri Manousos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].