Kennesaw State imports 28 players from transfer portal

Kennesaw State announced the addition of 28 players through the transfer portal, including what boils down to a swap of quarterbacks.

All-star quarterback Amari Odom, who led the Owls to the Conference USA championship and their first bowl appearance, entered the portal and signed with Syracuse. Kennesaw State countered by signing Rickie Collins, who appeared in seven games for the Orange last season.

Collins (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) is a native of Baton Rouge, La., who signed with LSU as a four-star recruit but played very little in two seasons there. He transferred to Syracuse for 2025 and threw for 1,042 yards, completing 97 of 181 passes, and six touchdowns, and ran 54 times for 126 yards one touchdown.

Collins started against Georgia Tech on Oct. 15, a 41-16 Yellow Jackets win, and completed 17 of 29 passes for 224 yards and one touchdown. He ran 14 times for 31 yards.

Collins was the only quarterback added in the portal. He is expected to contend for the starting job against talented holdover redshirt freshman Skyler Williams from Warner Robins and Landon Varnes, who transferred from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College on early signing day.

Another big offensive pickup is Latrelle Murrell of West Georgia, a redshirt junior who was named to the All-United Athletic Conference team after rushing for 893 yards and three touchdowns. Murrell had five 100-yard games.

The Owls also added running back Triston Morgan of Mays High School, who ran for 809 yards and six touchdowns for Benedict College, which reached the Division II quarterfinals.

Perhaps the biggest defensive addition is linebacker Josh Anglin, a product of Mill Creek High School who is transferring from Tulsa. The junior was an FCS Freshman All-American and a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award as a freshman at North Alabama. He played in 11 games for Tulsa and had 38 tackles in 2025.

Kennesaw addressed needs in the secondary, where three seniors depart. The most experienced additions are Jecari Bryson, who played in 23 games in four years at Gardner-Webb, and Luke Evans, who played nine games as a sophomore and 14 games as a freshman for Miami (Ohio). Others are Perry Fisher (UAB), Kaleb Gray (West Virginia), Ja’Lyen Judson (UAB), Cam Miller (Memphis), Tony Williams (UCF) and Maliki Wright (Duke).

Kennesaw added five wide receivers, including Zion Booker, a transfer from Tulsa who has 93 career receptions for 1,134 yards and six touchdowns, including a reception in his last 18 games. Booker can also return punts and could replace Gabe Benyard, who graduated.

The Owls also added receivers Brayden Munroe, who caught 92 passes for 1,322 yards and seven touchdowns in 27 games at Northern Colorado, and DeVaughn Slaughter, who caught 55 passes for 551 yard and three touchdowns as a true freshman at Tennessee State. Others are Zion Booker (Tulsa), Keon Davis (Virginia Union) and Dylan Gary (Georgia Southern).

The Owls signed two defensive linemen – Buffalo’s Devin Morgin, who had 23 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, and Jaiden Crawford of Arkansas-Pine Bluff – and three other linebackers – Corey Kelly (Baylor), Kai Russell (Wingate) and Alfred Thomas (Towson State).