Recordpub.com - Martin offers ultimatum to players after ISU loss

Doug Martin isn't backing off on his promise to shake up his Kent State football team in the wake of an ugly 48-28 loss Saturday night at Iowa State.
"This one right here at Iowa State is on the players," Martin said during his weekly Monday afternoon press conference. "I've never said that before around here, and I don't like saying it. I'm usually a very strong advocate of protecting those guys, but I'm telling you the Iowa State deal is on them. They better rebound this week, or they won't play again the rest of the season.
"Boston College was bigger and stronger than we were (in Kent State's week one loss Aug. 30), and I had no problem with that. But when you beat yourself, I have do have a problem with that, and I'm fed up with that around here."
Martin promised brutal practices all week long to determine which players will not fumble, which players will maintain their blocks in punt protection, which receivers will hold onto the football, and which defensive backs will remember their assignments.
All of those errors led to four lost fumbles, two blocked punts and at least one blown coverage at Iowa State.
Unfortunately, tough practices may not be enough to determine which players can play mistake-free football. Martin didn't see any of Saturday's errors turn up in practices or scrimmages leading up to the start of the regular season.
"What is different when you turn on the game lights?" Martin asked. "Some guys just can't play under that pressure, and we have to identify them and get them out."
Martin re-confirmed every job on Kent State's depth chart is open for competition.

THE QUARTERBACK ISSUE - Kent State has its best chance to win with Julian Edelman at quarterback
Martin knows it, but for Edelman to keep his job, he is going to have to prove he can hold on to the football when he takes off and scrambles. That means no more running around with one hand on the football a flaw in the senior quarterback's game coaches have tried to convince him to fix for three years.
Edelman is an aggressive quarterback who loves to run and take on tacklers. That nature is what makes him so difficult to defend. It has also led to earning him an "occasionally reckless" label.
"There is a difference between reckless and stupid," Martin said. "You can't be running around with the ball hanging out in one hand when there are five people pawing at you.
"You can be a mobile quarterback and not put the ball on the ground. Josh Cribbs did it for four years around here. David Garrard did it (for Martin) at East Carolina. That doesn't have to be part of the game. He understands that and he will get it fixed."

THE BACKUP QUESTION - Anthony Magazu and Giorgio Morgan continue to battle for work behind Edelman as KSU's backup quarterback.
Magazu, a junior left-hander, served in the No. 2 role during the first two weeks, playing in the third series of each half against Boston College and just the third series of the first half at Iowa State. Now Martin would like to see Morgan, a sophomore with a strong right arm and a bright future, earn a chance to play in this week's home opener against Delaware State.
"I'm really hoping Giorgio is going to come on," said Martin. "He started to play quite a bit better last week, and I'm really anxious to see what he does this week. He has a great opportunity to step up and make something happen for himself this week.
"The thing I like about Giorgio is he doesn't throw many interceptions and he doesn't fumble a lot. That's a great start. Now, early in camp, he started throwing a few interceptions that were not characteristic of him. I thought he was pressing a bit and trying to do too much. He is kind of getting over that now."

AVILA COMMITS TO KSU - Kent State added a new member to its 2009 men's basketball recruiting class this past weekend when 6-foot-6, 240-pound power forward Greg Avila committed to play for the Golden Flashes during a campus visit.
"I absolutely loved it at Kent," Avila said.
Avila is may be undersized in terms of height, but he has a thick body and a 7-foot wingspan and is known as an athletic enforcer in the paint.
Avila, who will play junior-college ball at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, Pa., this season. He was being recruited by Providence, Seton Hall, George Mason, South Florida and several Atlantic 10 schools when he chose Kent State. West Virginia, Villanova, St. Johns and UMass had also shown recent interest.
"(KSU assistant coach Bobby) Steinburg did an unbelievable job recruiting me and coach (Geno) Ford is exactly what I'm looking for in my head coach," said Avila. "The staff is so down to earth and real."