Wake Forest has Tuesday as the Demon Deacons make the official transition from camp to week one game prep, which begins on Wednesday. And while there are position decisions to be made by the Wake coaching staff, they are being made with the first opponent, the Kennesaw State Owls, in the front window.
Movin’ On Up
Kennesaw State is in a transitional state, as it has been for much of its football life, as the program enters its 11th season of existence. The Owls are in their second season at the FBS level and are trying to mimic the success they had at the FCS level. But they do so with a new head coach and a roster that is in rebuild mode.
The Owls spent their first nine years as part of a co-op conference agreement between the Atlantic Sun and Big South conferences. They won three conference championships under Brian Bohannon and advanced as far as the quarterfinals in the FCS playoffs in 2017. The first year in the bigger FBS world was mostly ugly for Kennesaw State. The Owls finished the season 2-10 with their only wins being against Liberty and FIU, both at home.
After a 1-8 start, the school announced that Bohannon was stepping down as head coach. He took to social media to say he was being shown the door.
The New Look Owls
The team enters the 2025 season with a big coat of fresh paint. New head coach Jerry Mack was the running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars at this time last year. But all of his experience prior to that was at the college level, including as the head coach at North Carolina Central for four years from 2014-2017. He won the MEAC title three times and finished his run with a 31-15 record.
Mack made his own jump to the FBS level after that by becoming the offensive coordinator at Rice. He also spent a year with the Tennessee Volunteers before his one-year stint in the NFL and the return to the head coaching seat, this time at Kennesaw State.
Mack has been an offense-minded coach throughout his years. He has a lot of work to do at Kennesaw State. The Owls averaged just over 250 yards of total offense per game in 2024. Last year’s quarterback, Davis Bryson, was a 54% passer with six touchdown passes and 10 interceptions.
Just in time for the opener against Wake Forest, enter the new look Owls. Mack has brought in a new offensive coordinator, Mitch Militello. The two worked together on the staff at Tennesee.
Well, This Sounds Familiar
The Owls have spent much of camp going through a quarterback competition that in many ways mirrors the one Wake Forest has had. Amari Odom is very athletic at 6-5, 205 pounds. He spent the last two seasons at Wofford, where he showed flashes of that athleticism mixed with some questionable decision-making. He threw for 1,500+ yards last year at Wofford but had six interceptions to go with seven touchdown passes. The other option at the position is Dexter Williams II, who is on his third program in four years. He played sparingly at Indiana three years ago. Last year at Georgia Southern, he threw 30 passes in five games. He finished the season with 248 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
The offensive line is also in rebuild mode for Mack. The Owls return one starter from 2024 on the line, guard JT Pennington. The rest of the line is being put together from the transfer portal.
The Defense is the Strength
Conversely, the defense is made up primarily of in-house returning players. The team’s leading tackler from 2024 returns. Linebacker Donelius Johnson had 88 total tackles last season, including nine for a loss and three-and-a-half sacks.
Defensive back JeRico Washington also returns, having posted two interceptions and 59 tackles last season.
Perhaps the biggest adjustment for the defense is getting used to new defensive coordinator Marc Mattioli. He spent the last two seasons as a head coach…in Paris (yes, the one in France), in the European Football League. The team name in Paris, for anyone curious, is the Musketeers. He also spent a year with the Parma Panthers in Italy. Prior to his European adventure, Mattioli had stints on the staffs at Vanderbilt and Stanford.
Typical of small programs trying to make a big move, Kennesaw State has to play some money games to help finance the endeavor. In addition to Wake Forest, the Owls have future games against P4 schools Indiana, Tennessee, and North Carolina.
Main Image: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
