By: Kenneth Harrison

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

Kennesaw State went 2-10 last season. It was their first year as an FBS/Division 1A team. They play in Conference USA.

Head coach Brian Bohannon held that position from the inception of the program in 2013. The Owls began playing in 2015. He stepped down as the head coach November 10, 2024 after starting the season 1-8. His overall record is 72-38.

Jerry Mack was hired as the new head coach December 1, 2024. He was the head coach at North Carolina Central Univ. from 2014 to 2017 and his record was 31-15.

He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rice from 2018-20. He went to University of Tennessee as the running backs coach from 2021-23. He went to the Jacksonville Jaguars in February 2024 as the running backs coach.

He spoke at the Conference USA media day event and he said signing local talent is his priority.

“What we decided to do here at Kennesaw is basically draw about a four-hour radius and try to stay more regional than anything else from the standpoint of recruiting,” Mack said. “But with the transfer portal, we’re always going to venture out and try to take the best student-athletes to fit our style of play.”

The current roster features nine players from Cobb County or Cherokee County, 25 others from metro Atlanta and 21 more from the rest of Georgia.

An example of this is redshirt senior wide receiver Christian Moss. He was a three-star recruit from North Cobb High School and he committed to Virginia Tech. He transferred to KSU in 2024.

The Owls used to run the triple option under Bohannon. Mack plans to run a spread offense.

“It’s no secret that my background has always been more of a spread, no-huddle style of tempo,” said Mack. “I want to continue to try to incorporate those things and try to do those things here at Kennesaw. The plays are the plays, but the plays aren’t as good as the players, and as we continue to get better players, they’ll get a chance to grow and develop their craft.”

Senior QB Dexter Williams II was named the starting quarterback in the spring. Williams grew up in Macon and graduated from Mount de Sales, where he threw for 1,524 yards and 15 touchdowns and ran for 984 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior when he was named Middle Georgia Player of the Year by the Macon Telegraph.

He played at Indiana from 2020-23 but missed 2021 because of a season-ending ACL injury that occurred in the spring. He transferred to Georgia Southern in 2024 and played in five games.

The Owls added 16 transfer players in 2025. Some of the standouts are S Isiah Thomas (Miami), IOL Brandon Best (Georgia Tech), DL Donovan Westmoreland (South Carolina), CB Alexander Ford (Western Kentucky) and RB Coleman Bennett (Rice).

The season begins August 29^th at Wake Forest. The next week is at #20 Indiana.

They play two more non-conference games after that against Merrimack and Arkansas State. Both of these are home games.

After Week 4 KSU will face Conference USA opponents. They will play Middle Tennessee, Louisiana Tech, at FIU, UTEP, at New Mexico State, at Jacksonville State, Missouri State and at Liberty.

Kennesaw State should be better in 2025 but that might not equal a winning season.