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Creative Director
Posted on Thu, Aug. 29, 2002
JSU's Kent a top passer
By JAMES JONES
THE SUN HERALD
Game plan
Who: Southern Miss vs. Jackson State.
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Where: M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg.
Note: This game is expected to have a sellout crowd of 35,000. The Golden Eagles won their last meeting, 17-7, in 1987.
Where Jackson State may have an advantage in Saturday's game against Southern Miss is at quarterback.
While the Golden Eagles are starting the inexperienced Micky D'Angelo, JSU's Robert Kent is one of the top passers in NCAA Division I-AA.
The redshirt junior completed 245 of 453 passes for 3,640 yards and 31 touchdowns last year and set new single-season school records. Included is a 593-yard passing performance against Alabama State last season.
Southern Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix expects the Tigers' QB to cause a few problems for the Golden Eagles' defense as Kent accounts for more than half of the Tigers' offense.
"The thing that scares me the most is people comparing him to Steve McNair," Nix said. "He has a great arm and can run. The most important thing is Kent's a smart football player."
Kent doesn't mind people mentioning him in the same breath as McNair, now an All-Pro signal-caller with the Tennessee Titans.
"It's an honor to be even put in the same category with Steve McNair," Kent said. "But it doesn't matter if I catch his stats. I just want to produce and win games."
Jackson State coach Robert Hughes believes Kent is just as good as the state's top two college quarterbacks, Ole Miss' Eli Manning and Kevin Fant of Mississippi State.
"He's a good quarterback with a strong arm and can read defenses," Hughes said. "He's the franchise. I'm gonna turn him loose this season."
Kent, favored to win the SWAC's offensive player of the year award, took an unusual route to land a college scholarship.
Despite passing for 2,880 yards and 28 TDs as a senior at Indianola Gentry in 1998, Kent was ignored by college recruiters. Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State were the only schools that expressed an interest in Kent, who eventually chose the Tigers.
The 6-foot-5 Kent was redshirted in 1999, but worked his way into the starting lineup by the Tigers' third game during the 2000 campaign, throwing for 2,510 yards and 27 TDs.
"I came into my own," Kent said. "My production increased after each game. That season was a learning process for me."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert Kent File
Height: 6-foot-5.
Weight: 230 pounds.
Position: Quarterback.
School: Jackson State.
Hometown: Indianola.
Class: Redshirt sophomore.
College Stats
1999: Redshirted.
2000: Threw for 2,510 yards and 27 touchdowns, named All-SWAC punter after averaging 39 yards a kick.
2001: Threw for 3,640 yards and 31 touchdowns.
JSU's Kent a top passer
By JAMES JONES
THE SUN HERALD
Game plan
Who: Southern Miss vs. Jackson State.
When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
Where: M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg.
Note: This game is expected to have a sellout crowd of 35,000. The Golden Eagles won their last meeting, 17-7, in 1987.
Where Jackson State may have an advantage in Saturday's game against Southern Miss is at quarterback.
While the Golden Eagles are starting the inexperienced Micky D'Angelo, JSU's Robert Kent is one of the top passers in NCAA Division I-AA.
The redshirt junior completed 245 of 453 passes for 3,640 yards and 31 touchdowns last year and set new single-season school records. Included is a 593-yard passing performance against Alabama State last season.
Southern Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix expects the Tigers' QB to cause a few problems for the Golden Eagles' defense as Kent accounts for more than half of the Tigers' offense.
"The thing that scares me the most is people comparing him to Steve McNair," Nix said. "He has a great arm and can run. The most important thing is Kent's a smart football player."
Kent doesn't mind people mentioning him in the same breath as McNair, now an All-Pro signal-caller with the Tennessee Titans.
"It's an honor to be even put in the same category with Steve McNair," Kent said. "But it doesn't matter if I catch his stats. I just want to produce and win games."
Jackson State coach Robert Hughes believes Kent is just as good as the state's top two college quarterbacks, Ole Miss' Eli Manning and Kevin Fant of Mississippi State.
"He's a good quarterback with a strong arm and can read defenses," Hughes said. "He's the franchise. I'm gonna turn him loose this season."
Kent, favored to win the SWAC's offensive player of the year award, took an unusual route to land a college scholarship.
Despite passing for 2,880 yards and 28 TDs as a senior at Indianola Gentry in 1998, Kent was ignored by college recruiters. Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State were the only schools that expressed an interest in Kent, who eventually chose the Tigers.
The 6-foot-5 Kent was redshirted in 1999, but worked his way into the starting lineup by the Tigers' third game during the 2000 campaign, throwing for 2,510 yards and 27 TDs.
"I came into my own," Kent said. "My production increased after each game. That season was a learning process for me."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Robert Kent File
Height: 6-foot-5.
Weight: 230 pounds.
Position: Quarterback.
School: Jackson State.
Hometown: Indianola.
Class: Redshirt sophomore.
College Stats
1999: Redshirted.
2000: Threw for 2,510 yards and 27 touchdowns, named All-SWAC punter after averaging 39 yards a kick.
2001: Threw for 3,640 yards and 31 touchdowns.
