Recordpub.com - Rumor mill: KSU to land big time recruit

If the annual recruiting rumor mill is true, Kent State may be on the verge of adding a big early piece to its 2009 men's basketball recruiting class.
Several rumors have Bedford High School star Robert "Scooter" Johnson set to verbally commit to play his college ball for the Golden Flashes.
The 6-foot-6 Johnson is rated as the sixth best player in all of Ohio and No. 1 among swing players.
I watched Johnson play at Kent State's "elite" high school camp last month, and he already had the combined inside-outside game to play at the Mid-American Conference level heading into his senior season of high school.
Johnson would be one of the most highly rated recruits in recent Kent State history. Cincinnati, Dayton, George Mason and Miami (Ohio) have all pursued Johnson during the current recruiting season.
The Flashes have also reportedly offered scholarships to a pair of point guards " D.J. Cooper of Chicago and Ja'Rob McCallum of Marion, Ind.
McCallum is the nephew of Detroit head men's basketball coach Ray McCallum, who worked with KSU assistant coach Rob Senderoff on Kelvin Sampson's Indiana University staff two years ago.
With Al Fisher and Jordan Mincy set to graduate after the coming season, KSU would like to sign two point guards prior to the 2009-10 campaign.

BACK TO THE HORSESHOE - Kent State will make its third trip to play Ohio State at Ohio Stadium early in the 2014 college football season. The Flashes recently agreed to a $850,000 contract to play the Buckeyes.
Rutgers will pay KSU $750,000 in 2012 to play a football game at its soon-to-be renovated stadium. That's an unusually big payday to play at Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights apparently can afford to pay larger guarantees thanks to a $102-million renovation that will increase the capacity of their Piscataway, N.J., stadium from 41,500 to 56,000.

NFL DESCENDING ON KENT - A steady stream of NFL scouts have made their way through Kent State during the Golden Flashes' first week of football practice.
In fact, talent like offensive tackle Augustus Parrish, tight end Jameson Konz and quarterback Julian Edelman seem to have NFL teams taking more an interest than usual in the Flashes.
"We've already had more credential requests than all of last year, and its only early August," said director of sports information Alan Ashby.
Interest in an offensive lineman like Parrish, who has pro measurables at 6-5 and 305 pounds, and a tight end like Konz, who has good size and blazing 4.3 speed, make plenty of sense. Fans may be surprised, however, by the reasons scouts have taken an interest in Edelman.
"Every scout who comes through here asks about Edelman as a possible return man," said KSU head coach Doug Martin. "Apparently they are trying to find the next Josh Cribbs, an athletic quarterback who can make switch to returning kicks.
"I think Julian could do it. I think he could have a great shot at making an NFL team that way."
And if not, Martin thinks Edelman should pursue the idea of continuing to play quarterback as a professional.
"I had Marcus Crandell at East Carolina," said Martin. "He was the exact same height and weight as Julian, and he is about to play his (10th) year in Canada."
Crandell, who plays for the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders, also spent a year in the XFL with the Memphis Maniax.
"Marcus has had a very good pro career, and he is very similar athletically to Julian," said Martin. "In fact, Julian is probably a little quicker. But they both are really tough kids."
Scouts from the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals watched Thursday's practice at Dix Stadium. Two other Jets representatives and Jacksonville Jaguars director of college Scouting Gene Smith visited Kent on Wednesday.

TIME TO HIT SOMEBODY - KSU will hold its first full-pad practice of training camp this afternoon.
"We have all of our offense and defense installed, all of our schemes, and now it's time to see if our guys can do it with the bullets flying," said Martin. "This is a day you always look forward to as a coach. This is when you can really start evaluating your players."
The Flashes will go full-speed during scrimmages simulating goal line and two-minute situations.