Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State’s new football head coach. Photo Credit: KSU Athletics
Owls football enters its second season in Conference USA with new faces leading the way all over the field.
New head coach Jerry Mack, who the Owls hired away from his post as running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, is set to lead the Owls in 2025, and will be joined by other new faces on the coaching staff including offensive coordinator Mitch Militello and defensive coordinator Marc Mattioli.
Militello reunites with Mack after spending time together at Tennessee, and Mattioli joins the Owls staff after two years in the European League of Football as the head coach of the Paris Musketeers, which included an 11-3 season in 2024.
Mack said the new faces on defense have made a difference.
“I’m really pleased with the progress we’ve made thus far,” Mack said. “One thing that has really stood out is the play of our defense. We’ve acquired some new bodies on the defensive side of the ball, and you can tell the way they fly around, their communication has continued to improve. The biggest thing is the athleticism that we’ve shown on the defensive side of the ball I’ve been impressed with.”
Among the defensive additions are safety Antonio Stevens, cornerback Caleb Offord and defensive lineman Marcus Patterson. Stevens appeared in 40 games over five seasons at Purdue including 10 starts throughout 2024 in which he amassed 46 tackles, three tackles for loss and an interception. Offord played in 12 games for Alabama State in 2024 collecting 29 tackles, four pass breakups and an interception. Patterson appeared in all 14 games for Western Kentucky in 2024 tallying 21 tackles including 4.5 for loss as well as 0.5 sacks.
In total, Kennesaw State added 20 new players on defense including 13 from the transfer portal.
Redshirt senior defensive end and second-year Owl Tylon Dunlap said adapting to the new staff has been exciting.
“Just been getting to learn new people from different places and adjusting to a great new system that coach Mack and our coaches are running,” Dunlap said. “So, I’ve been trying to just adapt to everything that the coaches want and just be able to implement it and be able to be great every day.”
Despite a 2-10 record for the Owls in 2024, Dunlap was one of 11 Owls named to the 2025 preseason Athlon Sports Conference USA All-Conference team — the third most in the conference. Dunlap joined offensive lineman JT Pennington on the second team, while linebacker Donelius Johnson as well as defensive backs Tyler Hallum and Jerico Washington Jr. earned first team honors.
Linebacker Garland Benyard, defensive back Milon Jones and kick returner Gabriel Benyard took third team honors. Gabriel Benyard also earned a spot on the fourth team as a wide receiver. Joining him on the fourth team were running back Coleman Bennett, receiver Christian Moss and offensive lineman Seaburn Hines.
Hallum and Washington Jr. also earned spots on the Jim Thorpe Award watch list — an honor awarded to the nation’s best defensive back.
KSU will also have a new face at quarterback in Dexter Williams II when they travel to play Wake Forest on Aug. 29. Williams II played at Indiana from 2020-2023 and spent the 2024 season with Georgia Southern. He made five appearances in 2024 completing 19-of-30 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns. He also added 45 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Williams II said he has the same mentality every day.
“Focus on just executing every day, being consistent and keeping the chains moving,” he said. “Just come in, be consistent every day, build on where we came from in the spring and just keep getting better.”
Mack said the quarterback play has come a long way throughout camp.
“Our quarterback play has continued to improve,” he said. “I think they take a step each and every day as far as their knowledge of the offense and what they’re trying to do.”
Set to join Williams II in the quarterback room will be Wofford transfer Amari Odom, true-freshman Skyler Williams, walk-on Preston Clemmer and Kent State transfer Tommy Ulatowski.
The Owls will look to build on their 2024 season when they take the field at Wake Forest on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. on ACC Network.
Mack said his team wants this season to be different.
“These guys have a pride about themselves and a chip on their shoulders,” Mack said. “They want to have a winning season, you know, a lot of these guys they were here before or they came from other places because they see opportunity. They notice there’s an opportunity at Kennesaw to do something special and the guys that were here before don’t want the same thing to happen this year that happened last year.”
