Spring practice was therapeutic for the Golden Flashes.

All winter, Kent State had to stew on a 3-9 season that ended with seven straight losses.

Since a five-game win streak midway through the 2006 season, the Flashes have lost 13 of 17 games, including a win over Delaware State. Kent State has gone 2-11 against MAC opponents.

Coach Doug Martin's team opened 2007 with an inspiring win at Iowa State. It was all downhill from there.

"We beat Iowa State and played Kentucky well, then guys started to get a complacent attitude," Martin told the Akron Beacon Journal. "The attention to detail just wasn't there."

Consequently, spring drills were about consistency and getting back to the basics.

"I think our quarterbacks being live all spring really helped keep everyone focused and made us much sharper on both sides of the ball," Martin said.

Senior quarterback Julian Edelman won back his starting job after Martin had declared an open competition. Sophomore Giorgio Smith is expected to be the No. 2.

"Our wide receivers still need to work on becoming more consistent," the coach said. "They tend to drop too many passes, and we're going to need them to make plays in the fall."

Junior running back Eugene Jarvis was the offensive bright spot last year, rushing for 1,669 yards and 10 scores.

Defensively, the Flashes have a veteran front seven but are young and largely untested in the secondary.

"We also have a couple of questions in the secondary and it really hurt to have Sam Kirkland out almost all spring with a hamstring injury," Martin said.

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