Settling in to his first head coaching post, Kenni Burns is continuing to assemble an impressive first staff atop the Kent State football program.
Now Burns is making one of his most critical hires for a pivotal off-the-field position.
Sources tell FootballScoop that Joe Manion, who's been Harvard's director of recruiting, is departing the Crimson program in order to become the Golden Flashes's director of player personnel.
A University of Nebraska graduate who also has on-field coaching experience from his time with Football Championship Subdivision power Villanova, Manion also has worked in Jeff Monken's recruiting department at Army-West Point in addition to a pair of stints at Harvard.
Though Manion has climbed relatively quickly through the collegiate football ranks, his background is in college baseball; he was an NCAA Division I player during his undergraduate studies at St. Joseph's University.
Burns and Kent State are scheduled for a trio of uncompromising non-conference slates in the first month of their 2023 campaign. The Golden Flashes open with road trips to Central Florida, Arkansas and, finally, Fresno State with a home tilt against FCS resident Central Connecticut State set for Sept. 16.