Kennesaw State defense has ‘impressed’ coach of upcoming Big Ten opponent

The Kennesaw State defense showed the sort of tenacity and aggressiveness in its season opener that could be a building block for the rest of the season.

Although the Owls lost 10-9 to Wake Forest on Friday, the defense played well and the effort provides optimism as the team travels to play at Indiana on Saturday (noon, FS1) and for the coming Conference USA schedule.

“The defense played really well,” KSU coach Jerry Mack said. “We had several guys that really stood out from every level, from the D-line to the linebackers and the secondary. I really enjoyed watching them play.”

Mack said especially noticeable was the play of seniors Caleb Offord at cornerback and Tylon Dunlap at defensive tackle. Offord, a transfer from Alabama State, was in the game for every defensive snap and finished with six tackles, one for loss. Dunlap, a holdover from last year’s team, had four tackles and a sack.

“The key word when I think about Caleb right now is consistency,” Mack said. “The same thing that I saw him doing in practice is the same thing that showed up on Friday night. He was where he was supposed to be, and when he was there, he made a real impact from a tackle standpoint or from a cover standpoint.”

Mack said Offord has the skill set that’s needed to play as a professional.

“He’s got to keep growing as a player. From all aspects of the game, he can get better,” Mack said. “We had a meeting and I told him, ‘That performance you put on the other night, if you continue to do that over the course of this year, you’re going to make some money in about another six or seven months.’”

Mack praised Dunlap, who began his career at Georgia State, for his high motor.

“Just the manner he flies to the ball on (defense),” Mack said. “He’s one of our leaders on (defense), in voice and in the manner in which he plays the game — the violence, the intensity. I think we all try to exemplify that on (defense).”

The KSU defense limited Wake Forest to only 2.8 yards per rushing attempt and sacked elusive quarterback Robby Ashford four times.

Linebacker Baron Hopson had a personal-best 11 tackles. Defensive back Isaac Paul set a career high with seven tackles. Kody Jones, Rod Daniels and Donovan Westmoreland also had sacks.

“Eliminate some of those self-inflicting wounds, and I think we’re going to be a problem in the conversation,” Paul said.

“We’ve got so many different types of skill sets to keep an offensive line off-balanced,” Mack said. “One time we’ve got a strong guy that’s a bull rusher, and then next time you’ve got a guy with quick speed coming off the edge. That’s a compliment to the guys who work up front.”

Mack said the Owls will get more offensive linemen in the rotation this week. KSU’s linemen showed fatigue in the second half, a couple of them cramping in the fourth quarter, when the team failed to score after the first drive of the second half.

“We’re going to address that and try to play some more bodies, take some of the reps off some of those guys,” Mack said.

The other position that will be addressed this week is kicker. Freshman Daniel Kinney took over in the second half after senior Britton Williams missed an extra-point attempt and a field-goal attempt. Kinney kicked a 29-yard field goal and will start this week.

Indiana went 11-2 last season and lost to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Hoosiers defeated Old Dominion 27-14 on Saturday to open the season, but coach Curt Cignetti was not pleased with his team’s performance, particularly breakdowns in the red zone and multiple missed assignments.