Now entering his fourth season as the head coach at Kent State University, Doug Martin has begun to reverse the fortunes of the Golden Flashes’ football program — and people are starting to take notice, as the following list will attest:

• Numerous preseason publications and pundits have picked Kent State to win the MAC East and to earn its first bowl bid in 30 years.

• Usama Young was a third-round draft pick of the New Orleans Saints in 2007, becoming the first Flash to be drafted since 2000 and the sixth-highest pick in the history of the program. He was joined in the NFL by Brian Bell, Andre Kirkland and Daniel Muir who went on to sign free agent contracts with the Washington Redskins, St. Louis Rams and Green Bay Packers, respectively.

• More than 85,000 fans showed up to watch Kent State football at Dix Stadium last year — an average of more than 17,000 per contest. The total jump in fans was 50,000 more than the 2005 season and featured three crowds of 20,000 or more.

Kent State Director of Athletics Laing Kennedy certainly took notice, locking Martin up in December with a four-year extension that will keep him in Blue & Gold through 2010.

The extension rewarded a 2006 campaign that saw KSU pull off the fourth-largest turnaround in the nation, improving by five wins over the previous year.

Included in the performance was a five-game winning streak, including four straight MAC victories — the Flashes longest conference skein ever.

Furthermore, the nation’s 25th ranked team in total defense, limited Miami and Bowling Green to a combined 17 points as Kent State won road games against the RedHawks and Falcons in the same season for the first time since 1972.

Five players went on to earn All-MAC accolades, including Muir, who was a first team selection on defense.

In addition to his head coaching duties, Martin also serves as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Martin is widely regarded as one of the nation’s premier quarterback mentors. His list of proteges includes three-time All-Conference USA selection and current NFL passer David Garrard, record-setting CFL quarterback Marcus Crandell and other pros Richard Alston and Josh Cribbs, who both played quarterback in college under Martin before switching positions in the NFL.

In 2005, Martin’s spread passing attack posted the third-highest yardage total in school history while the team’s 15 touchdown passes were the sixth most in a single year at Kent State. The Flashes also reached the 30-point mark three times in 2005, running the total number of games with at least that many points to 16 since 2003.

In Martin’s first season the Golden Flashes posted a 5-6 overall record, winning their final four games for the program’s longest winning streak since 1976. The team also finished 4-4 and in fourth place in the Mid-American Conference East Division while producing three All-MAC players and two honorable mention All-Americans.

Martin also handled the offensive play-calling duties and the unit responded to his coaching, scoring 335 points and racking up 4,168 yards, the second- and third-highest totals, respectively, in school history.

Under his guidance, the Flashes averaged 30.5 points per game, just the third time in school history a team averaged 30 or more points. The team also set a single-game scoring mark in its 69-17 win over Eastern Michigan Nov. 13.

Four times in 2004 the Flashes totaled more than 400 yards on offense, including two games over 500.

Additionally, in two years tutoring All-MAC quarterback Joshua Cribbs, Martin saw Cribbs develop into one of the top dual threats in the country. Always a talented runner, Cribbs finished his career as the owner of KSU career records for passing yardage and completions. He also ranked fourth nationally in total offense and completed a school-record 64.5 percent of his passes. As a team, the Flashes had a completion rate of 62.8%, also a school record.

While his spread offensive style is his calling card, Martin revamped his defensive coaching staff and saw that unit go from ranking 12th of 14 teams in the MAC in total defense in 2003 to first in the league in 2004. It marked the first time since 1987 that the team led the MAC in total defense and just the second time since joining the conference in 1951. Kent State also ranked 15th nationally in total defense.

Martin was named the school’s 19th head coach by Kennedy on March 1, 2004, replacing Dean Pees, who is currently the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots.

"The respect the players have for him as a person and as a coach, plus my own observations, have proven that Doug Martin is very impressive," Kennedy said. "He is an individual of high quality and high character and I am confident in his abilities to lead our football program."

Martin joined the Kent State staff in January 2003 as offensive coordinator.

After just one year on the staff, Martin made an instant impact on the Golden Flashes’ offense. In its first season under Martin’s system, Kent State averaged 26.8 points per game, the second-highest in the last 30 years, and scored 30 or more points in each of the final six games and did so in a school-record eight games overall.

From 2002 to 2004 Martin’s teams averaged nearly 30 points per game and posted the highest offensive totals in back-to-back years in school history.

From 2002 to 2003 alone, scoring offense increased by 10 points, touchdowns grew from 24 to 40, total offense was up by more than 40 yards per game and passing yardage increased by nearly 100 yards per game.

In 2004 that trend continued as the Flashes’ increased their scoring, touchdowns, passing yards and total yards per game.

Martin came to Kent State following 11 seasons at East Carolina University, the last seven of which he was in charge of the team’s offense. He was at ECU for all of Steve Logan’s tenure there, serving as the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator for two seasons (1992-93), then another two years as wide receivers coach (1994-95) before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 1996.

"What impressed me most about Doug is his vision for the football program and its importance to Kent State University," Kennedy said. "I am very confident in what I call his quiet resolve for excellence. For Doug, anything short of the very best is unacceptable."

At East Carolina, Martin played a significant role in the development of quarterback David Garrard, who broke 28 school passing records and total offensive records from 1998-2001. In addition, Martin coached the top three receivers in ECU history. During Martin’s time at ECU, the team advanced to five bowl games; the Liberty Bowl in 1994 and ’95, the GMAC (formerly Mobile Alabama) Bowl in 1999 and 2001 and the galleryfurniture.com (now Houston) Bowl in 2000.

Prior to joining the staff at East Carolina, Martin was a graduate assistant at the University of Kentucky, his alma mater, from 1986-87 and then spent the 1988-91 seasons at East Tennessee State University, where he coached the running backs his first year, then served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks/wide receivers coach his final three seasons.

Martin was a four-year letterwinner at Kentucky from 1981-84, spending time as a part-time starter at quarterback before injuries limited him to the holder role. A native of Oak Ridge, Tenn., Martin earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Kentucky in 1985.

Martin and his wife Vicki have a daughter, Molly, and two sons, Cory and Bobby. Cory is entering his freshman season as a member of the Kent State baseball team.