SELF-SCOUTING: WHO STARTS IN KENNESAW STATE'S FBS DEBUT?
Making some uneducated guesses on the Week 1 lineup against UTSA.
Camp reports circulate a little slower in Kennesaw, where Brian Bohannon and the athletic department keep a tight lid on the local media.
Preseason coverage thus far has mostly been about coaching Owls fans into how excited they should be about the upcoming season and all the milestones to come in Conference USA. We’ve gotten little to no news about individual players and their practice performances, though. Want to know which player made a big step and could fight for a starting position? Curious about vague details on how the team plans to line up on defense? Good luck! Just wait on kickoff - or the Week 1 game notes if you’re less patient.
That leaves us with a whole lot of guesswork on what we’ll see when the Owls take the field for their FBS debut against UTSA. I feel overly qualified for that speculation after leading KSU to the College Football Playoff on PS5 (lost to Oregon in the semis, my bad) and analyzing social clips from camp like a forensic scientist.
With that in mind, let’s take a shot at predicting the Week 1 starting lineup in the Alamodome:
OFFENSE
QB Davis Bryson | 5’9”, 190
I’ll still bet on Bryson against the field in the race to start Week 1. Two different stories have confirmed it from the only media outlet to attend practice multiple multiple times. With no official announcement from the program, it feels like a missed opportunity to hype Bryson as QB1 or craft the narrative of an ongoing battle to give some momentum to the eventual winner.
RB Michael Benefield | 5’7”, 205
The redshirt senior represented the offense at CUSA Kickoff and returns after leading the final FCS team in rushing yards. No reason to pick against Benefield being the crowded RB room’s workhorse again. I also like redshirt freshman DJ Scott as a sleeper option.
FB/TE Preston Daniels | 5’11”, 250
List him as a fullback, H-back or tight end, whatever you want. Daniels dropped 10 pounds over the offseason and is one of the most versatile players on offense. His ability to line up in the backfield and as an in-line TE allows co-OC Chandler Burks to vary formations without changing personnel.
WR (X) Christian Moss | 6’3, 190
Bohannon called the wideout a potential “difference-maker” when the Virginia Tech transfer signed. If he comes close to his recruiting pedigree, Moss instantly makes the offense better and can be the prototypical X receiver for Bryson. I’m sold off the clip of his one-hand catch in practice, because I’m a simple man.
WR (W/Z) Gabe Benyard | 5’10”, 185
His four-game redshirt year was almost perfectly balanced between RB (77 snaps) and WR (79), but he’ll be listed at WR for the CUSA debut. Benyard will be a perfect fit in the W role Isaac Foster pioneered in the new offense, plus the all-purpose playmaker can slide out wide in 3 WR sets.
WR (W/Z) Tykeem Wallace | 5’9”, 145
Let’s take a gamble on speed with the former slot back and collegiate sprinter. Compared to the rest of the WR3 candidates, Wallace presents a much different challenge to the defense and showed some flashes in the spring game over the middle and on an RPO bubble.
TE Carson Kent | 6’4”, 240
Strange new world we’re living in. KSU used to ask guys like Kent to eat their way into playing tackle - now we throw them passes. Kent returns after 14 receptions for 165 yards during his redshirt freshman season. Consistent threats out wide will free up some space to get the TEs more involved this fall.
LT Jacob Kettels | 6’5”, 295
Tackle is where I feel least confident, as the Owls completely overhauled the position in the portal with guys like Kettels, the Montana State transfer. Ask me in 10 minutes and this might be Dodge Sauser, the JUCO signee who started his college career at Iowa State.
LG JT Pennington | 6’4, 305
The former Jacksonville State lineman played the second-most snaps in ‘23 out of the returning OL group. Throwing darts for the line spots, and this one could be completely wrong. Mason Bowers saw some limited action at guard during his Coastal Carolina career, so this could also be a spot for him if Kettels and Sauser win the tackle jobs.
C Nathan Wright | 6’3”, 275
After a season bouncing back and forth between both tackle spots in a shorthanded OL room, Wright has worked at center in spring ball and camp. Phil Steele projected Wright as the starter following the preview guru’s spring conversation with Bohannon.
RG Ethan Newman | 6’3”, 300
Named to CUSA’s 2024 watchlist and fourth team all-conference selection in Steele’s preview mag. The only OL who played exactly 4 games last season, which tells you something about how the coaches rate him.
RT Mason Bowers | 6’4”, 295
Same deal as LT, where they probably have guys getting consistent reps on both sides. Bowers gets my uneducated nod as the other starting tackle due to experience (at least practicing) in a similar spread option system under Jamey Chadwell at Coastal.
Yes, that makes 12. We had to pay the fullback position its proper respect.
DEFENSE
DE Jordan Miles | 6’2”, 245
Kennesaw’s only returner on defense who started every game in ‘23. Jahon Myers also returns from an ACL tear that sidelined him last season.
NT Pooda Walker | 6’1”, 305
His PFF grade (81.9) trailed only Je’Rico Washington on defense last season. Won’t necessarily rack up monster stats but will do the dirty work to clog up the interior. Bohannon: “We will need big things out of him from a leadership standpoint moving forward.”
DT Adam Watkins | 6’0, 300
Carlos Allen left for Houston, opening up a spot alongside Pooda Walker on the front. I’ll go Watkins based on Watkins’ playing time when Allen sat out, but it really depends on what DC Greg Harris wants from this DL spot. GA State transfer Tylon Dunlop will push for time on the front as well, especially if there’s a shift to more of a 3-4 look.
Bandit Jamar Rucks | 6’3”, 230
Donovan Westmoreland’s Achilles injury complicates the situation at the Bandit spot on the edge - a place where Harris can get creative and provide different looks. Rucks, an App State transfer that came in ‘23, and Donelius Johnson are among the returners who lined up here last season.
LB Garland Benyard | 6’1”, 225
Certainly not going out on a limb at either MLB spot. Benyard started 11 times in ‘22 and, like many others, suited up for just 4 games during the transition year. Added 10 pounds over the offseason to prepare for CUSA.
LB Baron Hopson | 6’1”, 215
The former Jackson State linebacker partnered with Benyard for each of their 4 starts last season. Donelius Johnson will also be heavily involved here and had a higher tackling rate (missing just 5.7%) than any other Owl last season.
Spur Juan Silas | 6’1”, 215
No matter who starts at Spur, you can think of this spot as the defensive version of the versatile, hybrid role Gabe Benyard plays over on offense. New to the position, Silas switched from MLB during spring ball so that the Owls could spread out the linebacker depth. If Silas does start, Isaac Paul, Qway McCoy, and others will also see plenty of time as third safeties/slot corners depending on personnel.
CB Je’Rico Washington | 5’10”, 175
KSU’s highest rated defender last year, per PFF, with 3 picks in his four-game redshirt season. Kind of the football Terrell Burden in a way - local product out of Westlake who just needed an opportunity to prove himself at the next level.
CB Tyler Hallum | 5’11”, 190
Take your pick at corner, really. Hallum allowed just 3 catches for 29 yards in his 3 games last year, and there’s a lot of talent that will contribute regardless of who plays the first snaps in the Alamodome. One of the deepest position groups on the team, even with the loss of Chance Gamble to Georgia Southern.
FS Sidney Porter | 6’0”, 215
11 took the trip to Frisco with Bohannon and Benefield for CUSA Football Kickoff and will be one of the first names in the starting lineup every week. One of two former NAIA players, along with Hallum, lining up in the Owls secondary.
SS Christopher Townsel | 6’2”, 210
The USF grad transfer committed in mid-May as a much-needed addition to the safety group. The fact he signed up to spend just one year in Kennesaw, during what most perceive as a multi-year project, indicates Townsel expects to see a lot of playing time.