After catching Jerry Mack’s eye early, he’s become key to KSU’s success

Jerry Mack was still working for the Jacksonville Jaguars when he discovered Christian Moss.

Mack had just become interested in the job as head coach at Kennesaw State and was doing a little reconnaissance at his desk. While watching a clip, he noticed a player on the video that jumped out at him.

“I think it was just a shallow cross, and he just basically outran everybody on the field,” Mack recalled.

Mack did some digging and discovered the player with the long arms and speedy feet was Christian Moss. Mack was surprised to learn that Moss had played only about 250 snaps and had only 14 receptions in 2024. But that initial glimpse was enough for Mack to know that he would have a game-breaking threat if he pursued and accepted the Kennesaw job.

“It showed me, being an evaluator, that if this guy was put in certain positions, he would have a chance to be successful,” Mack said. “As we went through spring football, we gave him some opportunities to catch the ball down the field to show us what he could do, and he showed exactly what I thought he could be.”

Moss, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound redshirt senior, has more than lived up to Mack’s expectations. Moss has 23 receptions — ranked No. 8 in Conference USA — for 365 yards, a 15.9-yard average, and one touchdown. That score was a momentum-shifting 70-yarder last week against Florida Atlantic and was similar to the 60-yard touchdown against the University of Texas-El Paso that originally drew Mack’s attention.

Things have worked out nicely for Moss and Kennesaw State (5-2, 3-0 CUSA), who could become bowl eligible with a win over UTEP (2-5, 1-2) on Tuesday at Fifth Third Stadium in Kennesaw. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU at 8 p.m.

Moss is loving every minute of the experience.

“This is probably the best team I’ve been on,” Moss said. “From a team standpoint, we’re excited and we’re happy, but we can’t let all this hype be a distraction. We’ve just got to keep going.”

Moss is a homegrown talent — one of five Cobb County players on the roster — who graduated from North Cobb High School. He wasn’t originally recruited by Kennesaw State and signed with Virginia Tech, where he spent two seasons before entering the transfer portal and returning home. During the coaching change a year ago, Moss wasn’t sure what the future held until his first meeting with Mack.

“Coach Mack told me straight up, you’re going to get a chance to be really involved in this offense, and I took his word for it,” Moss said. “We went through spring ball, and I saw the platform that I was given and, honestly, it was a blessing. I couldn’t be more grateful to be in the position that I’m in. Seems like it’s all working out.”

He had a season-high six catches against Merrimack and Arkansas State and caught five balls in the loss to No. 3 Indiana.

And while Kennesaw State had a lot of success on the FCS level, the Owls are on the verge of winning enough games to qualify for a postseason bowl game for the first time, although they have their eyes on a bigger prize.

“It’s in my head, but I’m not saying it because that can be a distraction,” Moss said. “It’s a good feeling, but you don’t want to go into any game thinking you’ve already won. It’s important we don’t underestimate this team and just keep going. We don’t need to worry about that until after the game.”

UTEP is coming off a 35-17 victory over winless Sam Houston State, which snapped a four-game losing skid. The up-tempo offense, which finally settled last week on Skyler Locklear at quarterback, produced its most points of the season and broke open a close game in the fourth quarter. The Miners won only three games last season, one of them a 43-35 victory over Kennesaw State.

The Kennesaw State quarterback situation is still uncertain. Amari Odom started last week and threw for 205 yards and one touchdown before leaving the game with an injury late in the third quarter. Dexter Williams II, who engineered the win over Louisiana Tech the previous week, came off the bench to throw a touchdown pass and run for a touchdown.

Odom will start against UTEP if he’s healthy.