PORTAL NOTEBOOK: DAY 1

Everyone’s still figuring out how to act during the single transfer portal window that will run from today until January 16. Players are scheduling visits to their current schools, Tulsa’s doing a Hard Knocks/Real World combo in a rented house with a putting green and a half dozen Xboxes, and every recruiting reporter is breathlessly copying and pasting whatever message the uncertified agents send them.

Through transfers or graduation, Kennesaw State is set to lose the following from the championship team: Both QBs who started games this season, a diamond-in-the-rough RB tandem, the two most productive WRs, the tight end, four of five starting OL, six of the top 8 in the secondary, and three starting DL. That will scare Owls fans at first glance, but I think the overall state - and potential - of the roster going forward is in much better shape than you’d think given all the production to replace.

The sum of all the parts made KSU’s transition roster look like one that had been building toward a CUSA title for years, rather than one pieced together from the wreckage of a 2-10 team and an eclectic mix of under-the-radar transfer pickups on a below-market rev. share budget. I’m intrigued to see how the Owls operate with this many spots up for grabs after showing proof of concept on both sides of the ball and in the program-building sense. They’re building for the future rather than the survival mode of last winter, especially now that Mack signed an extension and the top G5 jobs are off the table for the foreseeable future.

As offers and visits start going public, this post will be my best effort to contextualize Kennesaw’s roster-building activity and take a look at player fit.

Obvious disclaimer: All of the guys who enter the portal could technically return, though the speed-dating nature of the short portal window means that Mack and GM Mike Kershaw can’t afford to wait around. They’ll move on to the next name on the big board, especially without a second transfer window to fix any glaring issues that show up during spring ball.

Let’s go build a roster.

Fittingly, Amari Odom was the first major piece of transfer news regarding Kennesaw State to emerge when the window officially opened. He’s lined up visits in the ACC and SEC over the next week, per 247 Sports.

I never thought an Odom return made much sense for either side. Once he signaled his intent to hit the portal, that was game over. Klutch, his agency, would’ve known what kind of $ evaluation was coming and Mack and Kershaw knew exactly what the Owls could dish out for a potential return. As much as I would’ve loved to see him back in black and gold for another season, I’m not sure there was ever a pathway to keep Odom and also put together a competitive roster around him. With that in mind, could he risk locking in with the Owls considering all the uncertainty around him? With two years left to play, Odom has the flexibility to go compete for a job rather than needing to be the unquestioned QB1 immediately. Juice was not just worth the squeeze for either side.

Elon QB Landen Clark appears to be one of the next options on the board, and he reported a KSU offer this morning. The Owls join Liberty, JMU, FIU, and a handful of other G5 programs vying for his services. Clark would enter as a redshirt sophomore after earning a third-team FCS freshman All-American selection from Phil Steele. A quick glance at some of the relevant numbers:

Whether it’s Clark or someone else who comes on board, you can probably project the QB situation to look something like this, barring any additional outgoing moves.

I can get behind that room, instead of chasing down an unproven or outright bad P4 name for even more money. A few more names I like at QB for various reasons based on my highly scientific research: Andrew Body (Alabama State), Cardell Williams (Sacramento State), Collin Hurst (Presbyterian). I also wouldn’t be surprised if the staff ends up checking on Keyone Jenkins to see what the price is on a potential CUSA reclamation project.

The expected departure of Odom - and to a lesser extent Dexter Williams - will get most of the headlines, but offensive line is a far more pressing need as the portal opens.

Which position, you ask? Literally all of them. Left guard Brandon Best and center Josiah Chenault will sort through plenty of options, right guard JT Pennington finished up his college career, and right tackle Nikola Milovac has announced he’s also entering the portal to take advantage of a scarce tackle market, or perhaps reinventing himself as a guard (if his Twitter bio is any indication).

Backup utility knife Cameron Williams (played at center, guard, and as the 6th OL when Militello wanted the extra beef) also wrapped up his collegiate career. Rene Miller, who joined last offseason from Alcorn State, said he was entering the portal, then withdrew his name, then re-entered, all within the span of like 8 hours. I think the single portal window is messing with the timing for spring graduates who are getting bad advice on when they would need to be enrolled at their next destination.

LT JaDarious Lee is the only starter who’s set to return at the moment. As quick as the portal moves, that could change by the time you read this. As expected, OL coach Jay Clements got right to work dishing out offers on Friday.

One early battle that’s already jumping off the screen is Iowa State guard Deylin Hasert, a former three star from the HS class of 2022.

There aren’t a ton of numbers to speak of, but that’s the state of the OL market. Brandon Best didn’t have a ton of experience under his belt either, and that worked out fine. Not every guy is here to play school, but Hasert earned some academic accolades that remind you of what the Owls saw from Coleman Bennett last year. Finding smart football players does matter, especially learning a new system up front.

Getting an IOL with 35 career offensive snaps is not necessarily a make-or-break situation, but we haven’t gotten to see a ton of head-to-head recruiting matchups between Mack and Dell McGee at Georgia State yet. Depending on who else gets involved, we could see a litmus test sort of battle between the two metro Atlanta G5 programs.

A few other OL offers went public on Day 1:

The exact reasons this offense sometimes inspires negative recruiting at the highest level - a limited route tree based on splits and reliance on deep choice concepts, empty calorie numbers, etc. - are what will make KSU’s version of the offense attractive to portal wideouts. At schools like Tennessee and now Auburn, recruits worry about what NFL scouts will think during the lengthy buildup to the draft. In Kennesaw, if the next “contract” ever happens, it will likely come after an abbreviated evaluation where passable measurable and eye-popping production will get you plenty of attention. Come in, succeed in a hurry, and you’ll

See Christian Moss, for example. He’ll have a chance to climb the ladder to the high end of the G5 or the Big 12 based on a single season as a full-time starter. Going to be honest: I did not think he had another year of eligibility. Not a ball-knower, I suppose.

Moss (most likely) and All-CUSA first-teamer Gabe Benyard will both depart and take a combined 105 catches and 1,600 yards with them. Conventional wisdom, based on production, would tell you finding a Benyard replacement will be the top priority in the portal.

Except the Owls already figured that part out: Clayton Coppock took over the slot role when the fifth-year senior moved outside midseason. Coppock, who didn’t even play WR full-time in high school, finished fourth among CUSA wideouts in EPA/target (CFB Graphs) and developed quickly enough that I started worrying about losing him in the portal, too. So far, there’s been no word from him about transferring. If he gets more time in the weight room (listed at just 155 pounds) and developing under a WR coach who will be at the P4 level within a couple seasons, KSU will probably send him on his way to a higher level this time next year.

If you write down Coppock’s name in Sharpie for the slot, a Moss replacement is a much more pressing need. Javon Rogers is still around and has been the subject of breakout season talk for as long as he’s been on campus. I would not give up on Lyndon Ravare just yet, either, even after he was benched late in the season. Between him and Moss, there was not enough of a deep threat to justify using both of them at the same time.

I’m high on true freshman Jeremiah Tabb out of Hoover and JUCO signee Tyler Henderson and think they will play a role next season. There are still a whole lot of snaps and targets on the table, even if both guys hit early. A few WR names to watch: