Kennesaw State received letters of intent from four scholarship players Wednesday. Defensive back Chance Gamble, wide receiver Zechariah Jones, running back Tykeem Wallace and linebacker Jerrod Woods signed with the Owls to culminate a strange recruiting year.
The Owls’ class of 2021 has a uniquely Georgia flavor to it. Of a total 22 players, including seven preferred walk-ons, 17 are from in-state. Four are from Cobb County. Jones is the only scholarship player added Wednesday who is from out-of-state.
Last year, Kennesaw State signed eight players from five other states. Thus, the percentage of in-state recruits increased from around 55% to over 75%.
One reason for the surge of in-state prospects was the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the recruiting process, coach Brian Bohannon said. This year, long road trips were replaced with hundreds of Zoom calls.
“It’s been tough,” Bohannon said. “For all those ’21 kids who had a tough year, I got to witness it first-hand. It’s been challenging.”
Gamble, a 6-foot-2, 164-pound cornerback from Fitzgerald High School, couldn’t visit Fifth Third Bank Stadium but spoke with Bohannon virtually. Before contacting Gamble, Bohannon reached out to Gamble’s father, John, who serves as Fitzgerald’s defensive coordinator.
John Gamble and Bohannon were on the same page about which position the dynamic Gamble should play.
“Coach Gamble and (Fitzgerald coach Tucker) Pruitt both were like, ‘Coach, we agree with you. We think he can be a heck of a corner.’ It was kind of weird,” Bohannon said. “We didn’t know. It’s just what we thought. … He’s a great kid. We’re excited about having him.”
Gamble played offense, defense and special teams for the Purple Hurricanes, who lost in the 2020 Class AA state championship.
He scored 23 total touchdowns his senior season, amassing 587 receiving yards, 783 rushing yards and 305 return yards. The future Owl is listed as a defensive back, but he might return kicks at some point.
Gamble isn’t the only player accustomed to playing for high school championships. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Jones won three state titles in his hometown of Madison, Florida. He caught a team-high 44 passes for 658 yards and 11 touchdowns last season.
Woods, 6-foot-1, 205-pound linebacker, played for the Lee County Trojans when they advanced to the state championship last year before losing to Buford. He recorded a total of 24 solo tackles during his senior year.
Wallace rushed for 11 touchdowns for Thomas County Central High School in 2020. The 5-foot-9 dual-threat player was named to the 1-Class AAAA all-region team on offense, defense and special teams.
One of the preferred walk-ons is Bohannon’s son Blake, a receiver at Etowah High School.
Blake, who had several offers, chose to join his father at Kennesaw State. Bohannon played for his dad, Lloyd, at Griffin High School over 30 years ago before starting his college career at Georgia. On Wednesday morning, Bohannon attended his son’s signing ceremony at Etowah then drove to his office.
“Selfishly, I get to watch him play,” Bohannon said. “If he chose to go somewhere else, I don’t know if I would have gotten to do that. But at the end of the day, I want him to be happy. He made his decision, and I’m glad he did.”
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