5 Best Kent State Golden Flashes Football Players, Ranked

Kent State, the home of where former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban played college football, has had a football program since 1920. 

The program plays in the Mid-American Conference. 

Today, football betting on their college football odds can be done at the BetMGM online sportsbook.

See the top five Golden Flashes below. 

5 Best Kent State Golden Flashes Football Players, Ranked

Kent State Golden Flashes All-Time Greatest Football Players

1. Josh Cribbs

While Cribbs converted to a wide receiver and return specialist in the NFL, he previously played quarterback for Kent State from 2001 to 2004. 

While there, he threw for 7,169 yards (third in program history), 45 touchdowns (third), and also ran for 3,670 yards (fourth) and 38 touchdowns (first). 

He also holds the Kent State record in total yards with 10,839. No other player in the program’s history has crossed the 10,000-yard mark. 

The program retired his No. 9. 

2. Jack Lambert

Before going on to win four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL, Lambert was the linebacker for Kent State from 1971 to 1973. 

While there, he won the MAC Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1972. 

He recorded 593 tackles (second). He also holds the top two single-season records with 233 tackles in 1972 and 205 in 1973. 

Not only that, but he holds the single-game tackle record with 29 in a game against Toledo in 1972. 

The program retired his No. 99 jersey. 

3. Eric Wilkerson

Wilkerson was Kent State’s running back from 1985 to 1988. 

While there, he ran for 3,830 yards (second) and 36 touchdowns (tied for second).

He holds two of the top eight single-season rushing records, headlined by 1,325 in 1988 (sixth). 

He also had 14 rushing touchdowns in 1988, tied for the third-most in a single season. 

Wilkerson was the MAC MVP and MAC Offensive Player of the Year, and the school retired his No. 40. 

4. Dri Archer

Archer was a bit of a “do-it-all” player at Kent State from 2009 to 2013. He played running back, wide receiver, and returned kicks.

Over his career, he ran for 2,342 yards (10th) and had the second-best single-season rushing campaign with 1,482 in 2012. 

That same season, he had 16 rushing touchdowns, which is also the second-most in a single season. 

Additionally, Archer caught 12 touchdowns, which is tied for eighth in Kent State history. 

Finally, as a returner, he brought back 51 kickoffs for 1,436 yards and four touchdowns. 

Archer was the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year, a consensus All-American, and first-team All-MAC in 2012. 

He, like Lambert, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

5. James Harrison

Another future Steeler, Harrison, was at Kent State from 1998 to 2001. He joined the program as a walk-on.

Over his three seasons, he recorded 15 sacks (tied for eighth). He had 12 in 2001, which is the second-most in a single Kent State season. 

That same season, he recorded five sacks against Miami (OH), setting a single-game record. 

He was first-team All-MAC.