Kennesaw State seeks to deflect distractions, focus on CUSA title game
Kennesaw State has fought its way into the Conference USA Championship game. Now the Owls may be fighting to keep their head coach.
In his first season, KSU’s Jerry Mack has assembled a gifted staff and constructed a roster good enough to play for the CUSA title. The Owls have erased memories of last year’s two-win team and are looking forward to their first bowl game.
Kennesaw State (9-3) plays at Jacksonville State (8-4) in the championship game at 7 p.m. Friday. The game will be shown on the CBS Sports Network.
Along with the success has come the growing possibility of the program losing its head coach. Mack — named CUSA Coach of the Year on Thursday — has had his name linked to numerous openings, most prominently South Florida, where Alex Golesh left for Auburn, and Memphis, where Ryan Silverfield took the Arkansas job.
Mack said his focus this week is on the CUSA Championship game but didn’t shoot down any of the rumors about his possible departure.
“I think it’s a compliment to our staff and our players, the work they’ve put in more than anything else,” Mack said. “I tell them all the time, I’m just along for the ride and having them give me a seat on the bus. Very flattering to have my name brought up, but the reality is we have a conference championship we’re preparing for.”
Mack said he keeps his cellphone silenced as much as possible this time of year and added, “We have representation to talk to people if need be, but my total focus is really on this championship game.”
The same principle applies for KSU quarterback Amari Odom, who is likely to draw great interest after throwing for 2,139 yards and 17 touchdowns and being named to the All-CUSA team. Odom set a school record with five touchdown passes last month against Missouri State. He refers all inquiries about his future to his agent while he stays focused on the task at hand.
“In this day and age of college football, people come and go, coaches, players, whatever can happen,” Odom said. “But right now we’re just taking in the moment. We have a chance to do something that no other Kennesaw State program has done in this conference. We’re focused on this week and after our ball game, whatever the future holds for any of us, we’ll figure that out later.”
The championship game is a rematch of the Nov. 15 game that Jacksonville State won 35-26. Kennesaw State amassed 579 yards in total offense, but had four interceptions — three of them thrown by Odom — and allowed a 62-yard Hail Mary pass for a touchdown at the end of the first half that changed the momentum of the game.
“We’re excited about the chance to go back to Jacksonville State,” Mack said. “We feel like we kind of let one slip away and made some mistakes. Any time you get a second chance in life to revamp and reconcile some of those mistakes, you’re excited about that chance because you know where those blind spots lie.”
Senior defensive lineman Tylon Dunlap, who transferred from Georgia State last season, isn’t worried about the transfer portal. His college career now has a two-game shelf life, and he’d like nothing more than to finish with a conference championship and complete the unlikely journey from last year’s 2-9 season.
“The transfer portal is crazy,” Dunlap, who was named to the All-CUSA second unit, said. “A lot of people try to go and get better opportunities, put themselves in better situations, so you never know how the team will look next year. Well, we can finish right with this group and know we did something right.”
Kennesaw State was well-represented on the all-conference team, with linebacker Baron “B-Hop” Hopson being named co-Defensive Player of the Year after setting a school record with 120 tackles. Hopson had 16 tackles against Liberty, including a school-record 12 solo stops, and recorded eight double-digit tackle games, third-most in the nation.
Other Owls named to the first team were wide receiver/punt returner Gabriel Benyard, offensive linemen Brandon Best and Josiah Chenault, and defensive end Elijah Hill. Named to the second team were offensive lineman J.T. Pennington and defensive back Caleb Offord. Honorable mention choices were running back Coleman Bennett, defensive tackle Adam Watkins and punter Joshua Huiet. Receiver Clayton Coppock, linebacker Tywon Christopher and Hill were named to the All-Freshman Team.
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.
