Energy is high as Kennesaw State opens first preseason camp under new coach
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
It’s been only a few months, but first-year Kennesaw State coach Jerry Mack said he can definitely see the growth in his team from the time he arrived in December to the opening of preseason camp Tuesday.
“Really good energy from the guys,” Mack said after his team worked though high temperatures — it was almost 90 degrees at 10 a.m. — and high humidity. “I thought they moved around and flew around. You can tell there’s a difference between now and the spring from a standpoint of guys understanding where they’re supposed to go and what their responsibility is.”
Mack and his staff will continue sorting everything out to prepare for the Aug. 29 season opener at Wake Forest. Decisions on who plays and who doesn’t will be decided over the next month. But the first day of camp was another mile marker for the new regime and the program’s desire to distance itself from last season’s 2-10 record.
“It’s a lot that’s changed with the whole new staff coming in,” senior defensive lineman Tylon Dunlap said. “Just getting to learn new people, different players, adjusting to a new system and adapting to everything that the coaches wanted, being able to implement it and be great every day.”
The Owls had 100 players on the field Tuesday, with 52 of them wearing the black and gold uniforms for the first time.
“We were ready to get after it,” said Davis Bryson, a junior who is moving from quarterback to wide receiver. “I think everybody came in, and we were just ready to go. And it showed on the field, even with it being a hot, hot day. Everybody came in focused and prepared.”
There have been a lot of position changes since last season, the team’s first at the Football Bowl Subdivision level and as a member of Conference USA. There are some fuzzy details to work out still, but the effort was unquestioned.
“From the standpoint of schematics that are a little bit cloudy right now, a little bit of lack of communication that we want right now,” Mack said. “But I think overall, it was a solid first day.”
One of the main tasks will be piecing together an offensive line that can help the new spread offense produce yards and points. It remains a work in progress, with final decisions unlikely until the opener.
“We’re going out there with a starting five, but I don’t know how that’s going to end up when all the dust clears,” Mack said. “But I do like the way those guys are working. From the standpoint of, ‘Are we ready to figure out who the top seven, eight offensive linemen are right now?’ we’re throwing them all against the wall and seeing what kind of cream rises to the top.”
The Owls began camp with Dexter Williams II as the No. 1 quarterback, a job he won in spring practice. Williams is a Macon native who played at Indiana from 2020-23 and spent last season at Georgia Southern. He brings the sort of mobility, strong arm and sturdy frame (6-foot-1, 215 pounds) that should play well into the new scheme.
“From an offensive perspective, I thought we executed well,” Williams said. “I think we can bring a lot more juice than we did today, but it’s the first day and it was super hot and everybody’s getting acclimated. I think the execution was there, which is always a good thing.”
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
