Kennesaw State opens spring practice with high energy, plenty of questions
Kennesaw State, the defending Conference USA football champions, opened spring camp Monday. Sort of.
The Owls, coming off a 10-4 season and the first bowl game in school history, began the first of 15 practices that will conclude with the spring game April 11. But coach Jerry Mack quickly pointed out that the team enjoying the comfortable morning temperatures at The Perch athletic fields is quite a bit different from the one that became the Cinderella of FBS football last fall.
“10 wins, that’s awesome,” Mack said. “But I do think we’ve closed the chapter on that and they’ve done a good job of just focusing on this team. Half those guys aren’t even here any more. These guys haven’t won anything, so we don’t even use the term ‘repeat.’”
There are 47 holdovers from last season’s team and 47 newcomers into the system. There are more returning starters on the defense, while only a couple of linemen return on offense. The search for a quarterback, running back and wide receivers will begin in earnest this spring.
The most visible replacement must be found at quarterback, as all-conference QB Amari Odom transferred to Syracuse. His potential replacements include Rickie Collins, a transfer from Syracuse, Landon Varnes (Mississippi Gulf Coast), Preston Clemmer, Skyler Williams and freshman Jamarcus Harrison from East Hall High School. Williams was redshirted by KSU last year and did not take a snap, but is more familiar with the system than the others.
“I’m really excited about the people that we’ve added to their (group),” Mack said. “We have three new quarterbacks, so it’ll be a fun competition — not just this spring, but through the summer and fall camp. That’s the fun part about this time of year, you get a chance to really coach those guys.”
There is just as much inexperience at running back and at wide receiver, where the major contributors all graduated or transferred. All three running backs and five of the six receivers listed on the depth chart from the league championship game are gone.
On defense, there is a solid base with lineman Marcus Patterson and Donovan Westmoreland, middle linebacker Baron Hopson, outside linebacker Tywon Christopher, and defensive back Kody Jones.
While the answer to many of the questions will be revealed over the next six weeks, Mack was pleased with what he saw on the first day.
“It was fun to see those guys fly around,” he said. “A lot of nervous energy for the first day, but overall, I’d say it was a solid day. We’ve just got to continue to stack these days and get better.”
Mack said the team has already spent seven weeks in the weight room working, thus creating a better situation than a year ago.
“It’s a compliment to the work our strength staff has been doing,” Mack said. “We’ve seen some guys change their bodies over the last few weeks. I’ve really been impressed with some of the speed and athleticism we’ve been able to add through the transfer portal. This wasn’t the first day they’ve ever done it before, but it was the first day they’ve all done it collectively on this grass.”
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.
