Updated at 11:50 p.m.

KENT, Ohio -- A 23-year-old Kent State University student died Saturday night, six days after being beaten unconscious near campus.

Two Shaker Heights High School graduates who attend the University of Akron -- Ronald Kelly, 20, and Adrian Barker, 21 -- are in jail charged with felonious assault. It was unclear Saturday whether those charges may change now that Christopher M. Kernich, 23, of Fairborn, has died.

Kernich, who grew up in Fairborn in southwest Ohio, was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m. at Akron City Hospital, Kent police said.

Details about what led up to Kernich's injuries are somewhat murky.

Kernich and some of his KSU friends were out last Saturday night near campus. Kelly, Barker and a friend left their off-campus housing in Akron to attend a fraternity party at nearby KSU.

Sometime after 2 a.m. Sunday, the two groups ran into each other. Kernich and his friends were walking on East Main Street. And Kelly, Barker and their friend were in a car pulling out of a nearby parking lot and almost hit Kernich and his friends.

According to a Kent police report, the car Kelly, Barker and their friend were in pulled into a nearby drive and the three got out and attacked Kernich and two of his male friends. The report called the attack an "unprovoked assault."

Kelly and Barker were arrested. Their friend was not.

Police have declined to elaborate.

Kernich was a standout athlete at Fairborn High School, graduating in 2005, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Kernich played football, baseball and basketball. His senior year he was listed as 6 foot 4 inches and 185 pounds, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Former players notified Fairborn football coach Roy Thobe of Kernich's death, the paper said.

As a senior, the paper said, Kernich 'totaled 1,240 yards receiving and scored 21 touchdowns.

He broke his leg in the fourth quarter of the school's season-ending game, which made him miss his senior year basketball season.

Kernich was a junior studying pre-business management at Kent State, according to a statement issued Saturday by Kent State University President Lester A. Lefton.

"Losing a loved one is never easy, particularly if it is a result of a senseless tragedy," Lefton said. "Chris' death is a tragic reminder that violence, whether provoked or unprovoked -- regardless of the reason, is never the answer. May we learn something from this incident, for our own sake and in Chris' memory."