HOOTMAIL #3: LIVE FROM THE PORTAL
One question for each football position group, plus previewing a stimulus package for Kennesaw State’s offense at the Convocation Center.
The mass hysteria about how many Owls jumped into the transfer portal never made much sense. Remember columns like “KSU Football is Crashing Fast” that listed the outgoing players like victims of a tragedy?
No matter who coaches Kennesaw State in 2025, that level of turnover needed to happen. Jerry Mack made the message clear to Milton Overton when he interviewed for the job, sliding a manifesto filled with PFF data (welcome, comrade) across the table to show what kind of roster management was required.
Either way, when you pull up depth chart for UTEP - the final game of the Brian Bohannon era - and cross off the players who left, you’ll see a lot of work to do.
Now that the winter portal movement has slowed down somewhat, let’s take a look at the state of the roster with one question about each position group:
QB: HOW MUCH CAN THE NEW GUY(S) SOLVE?
We don’t need to re-litigate the QB crisis of the last two seasons, a long and winding road that eventually ended the Bohannon era. How much changes immediately with fresh arms - Dexter Williams II (Georgia Southern), Amari Odom (Wofford), and HS signee Skyler Williams - and an offensive system that actually exists? That’s the biggest question in the entire program right now. Only Braden Bohannon and Earl Woods have announced departures so far, so it appears a few holdovers will stick around for spring ball under new OC/QB coach Mitch Militello.
RUNNING BACK: WHO’S THE LEADER IN THE CLUBHOUSE?
Follow-up question: What kind of positional value do we apply to college RBs? If you combine KSU’s returning production with incoming Rice transfer Coleman Bennett, you’ll get a total of 13 career carries at the FBS level. Does it really matter? So much of the success here depends on what happens up front that the backfield personnel is extremely far down Mack’s priority list.
Do DJ Scott and co. deserve a shot for sticking around so long? Yeah, probably. Still, I don’t think it’s physically possible to go through an FBS season with only 5 running backs in the program, so let’s count on additional roster moves.
WIDE RECEIVER: WHO’S STILL HERE AFTER SPRING BALL?
Kennesaw’s QB situation and overall offensive catastrophe in 2024 makes it almost impossible to evaluate the current receiver room. Mack pulled Gabe Benyard and Destun Thomas back from the portal, and he’ll learn a ton about the rest of the group before the next transfer window. If the season started today, you’d pencil in Benyard as a starter, playing the Squirrel White role, with Christian Moss and JD Robinson outside.
Past that, there are a whole lot of snaps to fight over given the tempo and constant usage of 3/4 receivers in the new offense. You could see a lot more portal movement once the current WRs get reps running a million miles an hour in the new offense. Are they fast enough to threaten the defense deep? Are they comfortable running deep choice routes and blocking in the screen game? David Whitlow’s going to find out in a hurry how his current group fits the Veer and Shoot, then act accordingly. Personally, I think they should go find some 6’4” guys who run a 4.38. Just my take.
TIGHT END: WHEN DOES HELP ARRIVE FROM THE PORTAL?
A starting-caliber tight end continues to be a pressing need, with Carson Kent off to Oklahoma and a couple other guys heading down the ladder for FCS or D2 opportunities. It’s telling that Mack didn’t bring back the reserve TEs that hit the portal, despite convincing Thomas to return as an underutilized WR.
Looking at who’s left on campus, is it the worst thing in the world to go through spring practice without a clear #1? Jackson Manning is still around, plus Militello and TEs coach Kyle Blocker can take an extended look at Rowan Darnell and Corey Gardhigh, too. If they can put 25-ish pounds on Gardhigh from his initial KSU weigh-in, he’s a very interesting project.
OFFENSIVE TACKLE: DID MACK FIND A STARTER IN THE PORTAL?
Market value on tackles makes the portal a tough way to stock up. Look at last year: Bohannon’s entire transfer class provided as many graduate assistants (1, Dodge Sauser) as regular starters by the end of the season. They’ll need to hit on one of the incoming tackles, at least. The current options from this window: 1) Nikola Milovac - inexperienced but well-versed in the Veer and Shoot at USF; 2) FIU transfer JD Lee, who’s played than 1,000 career tackle snaps in CUSA; and 3) Alcorn State’s starting left tackle Rene Miller, a signee from the last few days.
INTERIOR OL: CAN JD LEE MOVE INSIDE?
Bringing in Josiah Chenault, an every-day FCS starter at center last season, cushions the loss of Jacob Norcross, an unexpected mainstay as a true freshman. We know what we’re getting from Seaburn Hines and JT Pennington at guard by this point, so my main question here is if they can get any IOL snaps out of Lee - who pitched himself as capable of playing all across the line during the portal process. He’s almost certainly in Kennesaw as a tackle, yet nobody would complain about a more versatile lineman.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: WHO REPLACES POODA?
We don’t know what base defense Marc Mattioli plans on running (some guesses, though). It’s still obvious there’s an urgent need for new faces to emerge at DT, where around 60% of snaps at nose are open after the departure of Pooda Walker (Memphis) and Tyler Scott (Kent State). With Jaiden Grimes sticking around, and Adam Waktins left in the portal, there’s still a chance Mack hangs on to PFF’s two highest-graded Owls defensive linemen.
Mike Jones, a 6’2”, 280 pound D2 product, is the lone incoming transfer who projects as a tackle so far. Is that a vote of confidence on the younger guys in the building? Or is there more portal work to come?
EDGE: WHERE DOES WESTMORELAND FIT - AND HOW HEALTHY WILL HE BE?
The portal focus on edge defenders - WKU’s Marcus Patterson, Emory and Henry’s Elijah Harper, Liberty’s Rod Daniels - shows what Mack thought about the current talent pool on campus. To channel a GM excusing a lack of trade deadline activity: Donovan Westmoreland will also feel like a new signing as he returns from injury. Like the tackle usage, his specific job description is subject to change depending on the scheme. If he’s 100%, expect the former South Carolina Gamecock in some sort of stand-up, hybrid role like the Bandit position from the last regime.
LINEBACKER: WHO CAN CROSS-TRAIN FROM INSIDE BACKER?
Everything feels…normal…at linebacker? Garland Benyard and Donelius Johnson return as starters, and Baron Hopson should be fully recovered from a season-ending injury. Like the rest of the defense, most questions are schematic: If Mattioli prefers to play with two “traditional” linebackers on the field, can you find another use for the odd man out? If it’s three, how will they divide up the roles and mix in the rest of the linebackers?
CORNER: CAN YOU KEEP ALL THESE GUYS HAPPY?
Outside of Jayven Williams leaving for Mississippi State, Kennesaw’s clear-cut best position group mostly stayed together after JeRico Washington and Five Hamilton pulled out of the portal. Mack also added James Shellman from MTSU and a couple Alabama State transfers - Ethan Tookes and Caleb Offord - that come in with new CB coach James Williams. The question at corner isn’t whether the Owls have enough talent; it’s how to keep everyone engaged when you return both starters and only two (sometimes three) guys play at a time.
SAFETY: WHO TAKES OVER FOR SIDNEY PORTER?
Kennesaw State’s defense changed for the better once they moved Porter to the Spur role and played with three safeties on the field at almost all times. Who’s up next from that mold of player? Based on his positional versatility at WKU, newcomer Alex Ford would be a good candidate: 22% of snaps in the box, 22% at FS, 44% in the slot, 11% walked up on the DL, and a few at CB. He’s listed about 25 pounds lighter than Porter, but I’m thinking Mattioli skews more safety than linebacker with the role, anyway. A sophomore season jump from Jaiden Kimble wouldn’t surprise me, either.
PREVIEW: KSU VS. SAM HOUSTON
A quick autopsy from the WKU game: You probably won’t win if you play a half of basketball with more shot clock violations than made threes, while running an offense dependent on making threes. That’s called analytics, folks.
I’m bringing good news this week: Sam Houston’s defense is the worst that the Owls will see all season, even less effecient than Presbyterian. Just like the Jacksonville State game turned out to be a short-term cure for Kennesaw State’s frequent turnovers, some of the Bearkats’ numbers look like they could be a shot of HGH for the Owls on offense:
56.1% eFG allowed — last in CUSA and the highest from a KSU opponent since…the Al Skinner era.
Give up 14 second-chance points per game (also worst in CUSA) and rank 318th nationally in defensive rebounding rate. Both of which are pretty solid categories for the Owls.
They can’t protect the basket despite a 6’11 center in Kalifa Sakho: Last in CUSA in block % and 360th in the nation in FG% allowed at the rim (under 4.5 feet).
Over the last 5 games, Kennesaw State is shooting 26.8% from three (355 nationally) and 56.3% at the rim (332.) That’s what Pettway’s offense relies on, so a shot chart like this gives you some hope for open looks on Thursday night:
Sam Houston can definitely get buckets at the other end, though. CUSA’s most efficient offense - so says Mr. Pomeroy - balances out the league’s biggest variance from one end of the court to the other. As a squad, they rank 22nd in the nation in 3P% and draw fouls at the second-best rate in the conference (18.4/40 minutes).
Our disturbing player comp. of the week, courtesy of CBB Analytics, comes from Bearkats star Lamar Wilkerson. A preseason All-CUSA pick, the senior guard has given Sam Houston 19 points per game and shot a career-best percentage at every level, including 43% from deep.
A more selfish Chris Youngblood from the tourney season? Spencer Rodgers at his scoring prime hitting a higher rate from three? Both are problematic.
Kennesaw State has defended well enough this season on high-volume primary scorers this season - Ace Bailey, Jaron Pierre Jr., Don McHenry, etc. That hasn’t really been a problem. In that sense, Wilkerson remains the key player for Sam Houston’s offense, but you will be able to tell the game story more with the stat line for guys like Boykin or Huefner. Two other Bearkats - Finster and Hammons - also shoot above 35% from long-range.
Here’s the short version of the scouting report: Sam Houston is 1-9 against D1 opponents when they shoot less than 45% as a team from behind the arc. That is not sustainable, guys.
Sam Houston snapped a four-game skid against FIU over the weekend, though the Panthers may have given a helpful blueprint: Jump enough passing lanes to force a 25% turnover rate, and take advantage of their transition defense with 25 points in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. FIU, as usual, just couldn’t score well enough in other areas to make it matter.
Back on campus, with the students in the Convo again? I’m not buying the immense home/road splits as anything other than a byproduct of opponent quality (yet), but this looks very winnable for the Owls. Based on current numbers, it’s also one of just three games left in CUSA where our friends in the desert would favor KSU.
The computers say…
KenPom: KSU 82, SHSU 81
EvanMiya: KSU 79.7, SHSU 79.6 (sick)
T-Rank: KSU 85, SHSU 82