From what I can tell, the student newspaper was the only media outlet to cover Kennesaw State’s open practice. Props to them. Maybe others came out, but this story from Scott Daniell was the only piece of coverage I could find from Saturday.
The biggest news, so to speak, came from from the quarterback position, where Rickie Collins started, followed by Landon Varnes, Skyler Williams, and Jamarcus Harrison in order. That would’ve been the obvious guess heading into the day, though Mack did make sure to shout out the development of everyone in the QB room.
As for the in-house content, we got a couple posts with still shots, carefully framed to avoid revealing too much info. Minus the inclusion of Donovan Westmoreland in the background, out of uniform on what appears to be a scooter. KSU only released one clip of the live scrimmage portion - Collins to Dylan Gary, when the Georgia Southern transfer won on a double move and scored the day’s only touchdown. Mack answered questions for a couple minutes afterward, and Collins was the only player asked about directly.
This is the entire story on KSU Owls dot com:
KENNESAW, Ga. - Kennesaw State football kicked off Year 2 under head coach Jerry Mack in style, hosting the 2026 Spring Game in front of a terrific crowd on a perfect, sun-drenched day at Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium on Saturday morning.
The Owls game fans a behind-the-scenes look at a regular football practice to start things off, performing drills that consisted on individual work, 1-on-1's and 7-on-7's. KSU then transitioned to a team scrimmage, showcasing multiple drives of offense and defense.
The lack of media coverage and fanfare for the spring gam feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to bridge the gap between the CUSA championship team and the 2026 squad. Should KSU close the doors to non-family and just have a regular 15th practice? Or should the athletic department turn it into more of a spectacle, add an incentive like releasing that grey uniform, and maybe schedule it some time other than 10:30 AM during spring break and moving day at The Masters? Both options are perfectly fine, but they’re right in the middle at the moment. Do you feel like the department used these six weeks of spring ball to make any sort of progress on capturing the casual fans who might be a little Owl-curious after the CUSA title?
College football is all about roster management and talent acquisition these days, and KSU often completely forgets that fans follow this sport on a 24/7/365 basis. Why not put in a little more work to make them fall in love with the process and not just the letters on the side of the helmet? I’m not asking for the All 22 (actually, yeah I am) of every single practice period. In an era of constant player movement and roster flips, spring practice just feels like such a layup to introduce a whole new group of players and highlight what they can do on the field. Intentional or not, KSU created a situation where the department has a monopoly on legit Owls coverage that’s hardly utilized.
Fortunately, a brave citizen that goes by North Georgia Lore shared footage of the entire 8-play, 70-yard first drive. That’s a start.
Without knowing who was held out of action, we’re not going to get much of a read on what the rotations do or don’t mean. But for the true sickos, I did chart who played where during that opening drive. Disclaimer: I am only going off what I can see (and KSU’s roster) so it’s very possible my eyes deceived me at times or I missed something.
Collins took the reins for the full drive, with subs everywhere except Mateo Guevara at center and the right side of the OL. Most investing rotation in that unit was Zamario Woodgett coming in for some reps at left tackle, with JaDarious Lee sliding over to guard.
Davis Bryson got a couple targets in the slot, and was the decoy man on a pretty nice jet counter for Triston Morgan, one of three RBs used on the opening drive. Unless West GA transfer Latrelle Murrell made a cameo later, I’m assuming he was held out of action to let the other less-experienced backs see more snaps. Mostly as expected on offense, though it was interesting to see Ekeh take all the reps on the first drive at right guard, next to Milovac.
DC Marc Mattioli sent out the following “starting” lineup:
DE: Marcus Patterson
DT: Devin Morgan
Nose: Jaiden Grimes
Rush: Corey Kelly
LB: Josh Anglin, Tywon Christopher
Nickel: Tony Williams
CB: Ethan Tookes, Kaleb Gray
Safety: Alex Ford, Cam Miller
Midway through the drive, Bryon Jackson, AJ Miller, Jaiden Crawford, and Nasir Smith came in for a wholesale change up front. Karson Moss and Alfred Thomas also made appearances at LB on that first drive. Returners Kody Jones, Baron Hopson, Isaac Paul were all in uniform on the sideline, based on the footage. Ugonna Nwoha and Zakir Abdul Salaam (wearing some sort of arm sling) were a couple other defensive Owls that did not appear to be in uniform.
If anybody has some intel or takes based on the rest of the action, I would love to hear them. Maybe I can get off KSU’s no-fly list by the time next year’s spring practice rolls around.
