Gap Down Backer.

[Soapy]

Very interested to see how big the exodus is

got tears in my eyes right now, brodie

[Soapy]

All-American CB JeRico Washington Jr. enters the transfer portal among eighteen departures for Kennesaw State
Keke Hagg
Jan 3, 2025, 9:22 AM ET

---

KENNESAW, Ga. -- As widely reported and expected, Kennesaw State All-American cornerback JeRico Washington Jr. is entering the transfer portal, announcing the move on his social media page where he thanked the school, his teammates and the Owls coaching staff.

Washington will likely be one of the top G6 cornerbacks available of in the portal and could be due for a move into the Power 4. The Owls are also losing starting safety Isaac Paul, staring center Josiah Chenault and starting right tackle Rene Miller as they are also entering the portal. In total, eighteen Owls have entered the portal as of this morning as the Owls coaching staff will look to rebuild nearly their entire roster with twenty-six graduating seniors as well.

---

2026 Kennesaw State Owls Transfer Portal Entries

Player	Position	Class	Hometown	Height	Weight	Stats
JeRico Washington Jr.	CB	Rs So	Atlanta, GA	5'10"	175lbs	77 tackles, 4 INT, 13 PBU
Isaac Paul	S	Rs So	Panama City, FL	5'11"	170lbs	63 tackles, INT, PBU
Semaj Parker	TE	Rs Jr	Kingsland, GA	6'3"	225lbs	No stats
Alexander Diggs	HB	Rs Kr	Snellville, GA	5'9"	185lbs	32 carries, 56 yards, 2 TD
Alexander Ford	S	Rs Jr	Antioch, TN	6'0"	196lbs	4 tackles
Rob Brown	HB	Rs Jo	Trion, GA	6'0"	200lbs	No stats
Isaiah Thomas	S	Rs Fr	Ontario, CN	6'2"	200lbs	8 tackles, PBU
Rene Miller	OT	Rs Jr	Bear, DE	6'6"	335lbs	3 sacks allowed, 3 pancakes, 13 GS
Rowan Darnell	TE	Rs Jr	Johns Creek, GA	6'4"	215lbs	No stats
Josiah Chenault	C	Rs So	Sanford, FL	6'3"	300lbs	5 sacks allowed, 4 pancakes, 13 GS
Ugonna Nwoha	EDGE	Rs Jr	Austell, GA	6'3"	255lbs	3 tackles, TFL
Trey Butts	OT	Rs Jr	Macon, GA	6'2"	295lbs	No stats
Kaleb May	T	Rs So	McCalla, AL	6'4"	270lbs	No stats
Donovan Westmoreland	LB	Rs So	Griffin, GA	6'1"	230lbs	No stats
Jaxon Colvin	EDGE	So	Geraldine, AL	6'4"	250lbs	No stats
Zamario Woodgett	OT	Fr	Smyrna, GA	6'15"	280lbs	No stats
Nasir Smith	EDGE	Fr	Loganville, GA	6'3"	275lbs	No stats
Jackson Cooper	DT	Fr	Tuscaloosa, AL	6'4"	300lbs	No stats

2026 Kennesaw State Owls Recruiting Class

Player	Position	Rank	Hometown	Height	Weight	Class
Tobias Singleton	DT		Jacksonville, FL	6'5"	275lbs	HS Sr
Hasheem Nwokeji	WR		Moultrie, GA	6'4"	194lbs	HS Sr
Shakir Boudreaux	S		Tyrone, GA	5'11"	184lbs	HS Sr
George Imatorbhebhe	EDGE		Moultrie, GA	6'4"	227lbs	HS Sr
Tyrone Hoyt	TE		Powder Springs, GA	6'4"	212lbs	HS Sr

2026 Kennesaw State Owls Recruiting Board

Player	Position	Rank	Hometown	Height	Weight	Class	Top Schools
Jalen Maddox	C		Pensacola, FL	6'2"	314lbs	HS Sr
David Addai	CB		Saluda, SC	5'10"	193lbs	HS Sr
Josh Kilgo	C		Pensacola, FL	6'3"	301lbs	HS Sr
Quincy Hewitt	LB		Marietta, GA	6'3"	232lbs	HS Sr
Thomas Durbin	ATH (LB)		Warner Robins, GA	6'3"	223lbs	HS Sr

2026 Kennesaw State Owls Recruiting Losses

Player	Position	Rank	Hometown	Height	Weight	Class	Commitment
Legend Ojeda	OT		Warner Robins, GA	6'7"	292lbs	HS Sr
Jacques Ahmed	CB		Hollywood, FL	5'9"	160lbs	HS Sr
Lynn Landolt	QB		Jacksonville, FL	6'0"	192lbs	HS Sr
C.J. Westfall	OG		Columbus, GA	6'1"	320lbs	JUCO So
Shareef Turay	WR		Atlanta, GA	5'11"	162lbs	HS Sr
Sidney Lamm	S		Atlanta, GA	6'1"	187lbs	HS Sr
Garret Flood	CB		Miami, FL	6'0"	169lbs	HS Sr
Tiquan Regis	LB		Moultrie, GA	6'4"	228lbs	HS Sr
Cam Brightwell	EDGE		Bogart, GA	6'3"	252lbs	JUCO So

[Soapy]

Kennesaw State head coach Bubba Mack keeps it real on the transfer
portal, state of the program
By Lamar O'Neal
January 6, 2025

When Kennesaw State head coach Bubba Mack met with his team on Monday for the start of the team's winter workouts, there were only forty-one players in attendance. With the NCAA's latest ruling which squeezed the transfer portal window from two open transfer windows to just one, players are now permitted to enter the transfer portal following the end of the regular season all the way until May 1st. For teams like Kennesaw State, which saw eighteen players enter the transfer portal, it means winter workouts with half of the team.

"I don't know if it's best solution," Mack said of the ruling, "But it's what we're working with so we'll make the best of it."

A transfer portal player that signs with a team will be allowed to practice with the team once they get through Clearinghouse, even if they are not yet enrolled at the school. This allows for players that are in the transfer portal at the start of the semester to be able to practice with their teams instead of having to wait until the summer where practices are limited. This new model creates a pressurized environment for players and coaches as the race to field a team, any team, is increased while still managing the demands of coaching the current players on the roster.

Mack and his staff spent Monday evening, following practice, on the road meeting with players. Some of Mack's staff won't be back on campus until Friday's practice, leaving a skeleton crew of coaches to coach the remaining forty-one players on the team while the others try to add to the fold.

"The reality of our situation is that we're always going to struggle to keep guys like JeRico [Washington Jr]," Mack said of Kennesaw State's All-American cornerback, who entered the transfer portal and was immediately linked to Georgia, Clemson and Ohio State, "We have to create an environment where guys feel like they can make it to the NFL playing with us and until we do that, it's going to be hard to not have to go through this every year."

Mack said he understood Washington's decision and believes that the Atlanta native has pro potential. Mack would know, he spent ten years in the NFL as an offensive lineman for the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons. He's coached at the (back then) Power 5 level with UCLA and has coached and mentored dozens of future NFL players. He know what it looks like and he also knows what it doesn't look like.

"A lot of guys think they're playing the league and they're not going to," Mack added, "They have a couple of good games, a couple of good clips and they have people in their ear telling them that if they go to Kentucky or South Carolina that they're going to get drafted. You're going to play special teams at South Carolina, bro. You're a good Conference-USA player, focus on being a great one before you feel like you're too good or something to play for our program."

Mack projects at least a quarter of his roster will be transfer portal additions, many of which he wants to get on campus as soon as possible while still going through the evaluation process.

"Everyone is in the portal for a reason," Mack says, "It's like the girl at the bar. She's there for a reason. You just got to figure out why and if that why matches up with what you got going and are willing to accept or work through. It's a lot of speed dating in the portal so you better get it right or you end up with a terrible locker room."

[Soapy]

Could transfer portal quarterback Raheim Jeter be Kennesaw State's next starting quarterback?
KingHootMan -- KSUOwlHowl.com Football Contributor

Dexter Williams II powered the Kennesaw State Owls to six wins last year, carrying the offense to unexpected success with the miracle win over LA Tech which made him immortal in program lore and then ended the regular season with the upset of Liberty.

The Owls need to replace Williams' production and leadership at the quarterback position and while Amari Odom has widely been viewed as the heir apparent, it appears that the KSU coaching staff is at least open to some competition. They've recently offered East Carolina's Raheim Jeter, who jumped into the portal two weeks ago. Jeter, who is listed at six-foot-four and 223 pounds, has two years of eligibility remaining.

A three-star prospect out of Duncan, South Carolina, Jeter held offers from West Virginia, Auburn, Charlotte and Georgia before picking the Pirates following his decommitment from the Mountaineers. He hasn't played much, hence why he's in the transfer portal offer, but would be an interesting prospect to add to the quarterback competition this spring should he come to KSU. He's currently considering Charlotte and Ball State.

Speaking of Ball State, the Owls have offered the Cardinals' top leading receiver Eric Weatherly who caught sixty-two passes for 1086 yards and eleven touchdowns last year. Weatherly would be the perfect replacement for slot receiver Gabriel Benyard who graduated and actually had better production than Benyard who struggled with injuries in his final season with the Owls.

In other transfer news, it appears that cornerback JeRico Washington Jr. is down to Tennessee and Michigan with him scheduled to visit both schools in the next ten days.

[redsox907]

You're going to play special teams at South Carolina, bro.

BUBBA MACK KEEPS IT REAL

Sucks to lose Jericho but we all knew it was coming. That boy wants to play between the hedges!

[Soapy]

Kennesaw State lands top three Conference-USA class thanks to massive transfer portal haul in Bubba Mack's first full cycle
Keke Hagg
Feb 5, 2026, 10:44 AM ET

---

KENNESAW, Ga. -- Kennesaw State head coach Bubba Mack's National Signing Day should be considered a success as Mack, in his first full recruiting class, signed a top three-recruiting class in the conference behind only Liberty and Western Kentucky. In the high school rankings, despite only signing nine high school players, the Owls finished top four in the conference and signed the most three-stars in the conference with eight three stars.

KSU did miss out on cornerback David Addai, who opted to stay closer to home and sign with North Carolina State. While recruiting is a zero-sum game, many of the Owls losses on the recruiting trail this season have been to Power 4 programs such as Wake Forest and Auburn or more established AAC/Sun Belt/C-USA programs.

The Owls signed a very good transfer portal class as well, led by Ball State receiver Eric Weatherly who caught sixty-two passes for 1086 yards and eleven touchdowns last year. The Owls are bringing in 21 transfers, the most in the conference, and finished second to just Liberty in the conference in the transfer portal rankings as they signed a top-sixty transfer portal class.

An interesting name in the haul is quarterback Raheim Jeter who will likely compete for the starting quarterback job along with returner Amari Odom.

---

2026 Kennesaw State Owls Transfer Class

Player	Position	Class	Hometown	Height	Weight	Prev School	2025 Stats
Everett Hunter	TE	Jr	Modesto, CA	6'5"	233lbs		2 receptions, 18 yards
Eric Weatherly	WR	Jr	Jacksonville, FL	5'9"	180lbs		62 receptions, 1086 yards, 11 TD
Clay Anthony	C	So	Montgomery, AL	6'3"	301lbs		No stats
Junior Sampson	G	Fr	Chandler, AZ	6'4"	317lbs		No stats
Raheim Jeter	QB	So	Spartanburg, SC	6'4"	223lbs		No stats
Zion Armstead	CB	Fr	Urbandale, IA	6'3"	190lbs		No stats
K.J. Parker	WR	Fr	Bellwood, IL	5'10"	184lbs		No stats
Deon McKinley	S	Jr	Helotes, TX	5'10"	207lbs		No stats
Greg Spiller	HB	So	Ashburn, VA	6'0"	200lbs		2 rush attempts, -2 yards, TD
Kris Carruthers	DT	So	Jacksonville, FL	6'3"	313lbs		No stats
Colin Banning	G	Fr	Spring Creek, NV	6'4"	285lbs		No stats
Markese Moon	CB	Fr	Winter Park, FL	6'3"	193lbs		No stats
A.J. Andrews	T	Fr	Griffin, GA	6'3"	300lbs		12 GP, 0 GS
Josh Anglin	LB	So	Hoschton, GA	6'0"	215lbs		5 tackles, 2 PBU
T.J. McGill	S	So	Charlotte, NC	6'0"	185lbs		No stats
Evan Brown	S	Fr	Easthampton, MA	6'0"	192lbs		No stats
Dwayne Harrison	EDGE	Fr	Ridgeland, MS	6'4"	249lbs		No stats
Eric Smith	OT	Jr	Fairmont, WV	6'6"	299lbs		No stats
Jaylin Moore	DT	Jr	Blythewood, SC	6'0"	290lbs		11 tackles, 4 TFL, sack
Fabian Keith	CB	Fr	McDonough, GA	6'0"	187lbs		No stats
Samuel Riddy Jr.	EDGE	Fr	North Charleston, SC	6'6"	288lbs		14 tackles, 2 TFL

2026 Kennesaw State Owls Recruiting Class

Player	Position	Rank	Hometown	Height	Weight	Class
Jalen Maddox	C		Pensacola, FL	6'2"	314lbs	HS Sr
Tobias Singleton	DT		Jacksonville, FL	6'5"	275lbs	HS Sr
Hasheem Nwokeji	WR		Moultrie, GA	6'4"	194lbs	HS Sr
Shakir Boudreaux	S		Tyrone, GA	5'11"	184lbs	HS Sr
Josh Kilgo	C		Pensacola, FL	6'3"	301lbs	HS Sr
George Imatorbhebhe	EDGE		Moultrie, GA	6'4"	227lbs	HS Sr
Quincy Hewitt	LB		Marietta, GA	6'3"	232lbs	HS Sr
Thomas Durbin	ATH (LB)		Warner Robins, GA	6'3"	223lbs	HS Sr
Tyrone Hoyt	TE		Powder Springs, GA	6'4"	212lbs	HS Sr

2026 Kennesaw State Owls Recruiting Losses

Player	Position	Rank	Hometown	Height	Weight	Class	Commitment
Legend Ojeda	OT		Warner Robins, GA	6'7"	292lbs	HS Sr
David Addai	CB		Saluda, SC	5'10"	193lbs	HS Sr
Jacques Ahmed	CB		Hollywood, FL	5'9"	160lbs	HS Sr
Lynn Landolt	QB		Jacksonville, FL	6'0"	192lbs	HS Sr
C.J. Westfall	OG		Columbus, GA	6'1"	320lbs	JUCO So
Shareef Turay	WR		Atlanta, GA	5'11"	162lbs	HS Sr
Sidney Lamm	S		Atlanta, GA	6'1"	187lbs	HS Sr
Garret Flood	CB		Miami, FL	6'0"	169lbs	HS Sr
Tiquan Regis	LB		Moultrie, GA	6'4"	228lbs	HS Sr
Cam Brightwell	EDGE		Bogart, GA	6'3"	252lbs	JUCO So

Notable 2026 Kennesaw State Owls Transfer Departures

Player	Position	Class	Hometown	Height	Weight	2025 Stats	New School
JeRico Washington Jr.	CB	Rs So	Atlanta, GA	5'10"	175lbs	77 tackles, 4 INT, 13 PBU
Isaac Paul	S	Rs So	Panama City, FL	5'11"	170lbs	63 tackles, INT, PBU
Semaj Parker	TE	Rs Jr	Kingsland, GA	6'3"	225lbs	No stats
Alexander Diggs	HB	Rs Kr	Snellville, GA	5'9"	185lbs	32 carries, 56 yards, 2 TD
Alexander Ford	S	Rs Jr	Antioch, TN	6'0"	196lbs	4 tackles
Rob Brown	HB	Rs Jo	Trion, GA	6'0"	200lbs	No stats
Isaiah Thomas	S	Rs Fr	Ontario, CN	6'2"	200lbs	8 tackles, PBU
Rene Miller	OT	Rs Jr	Bear, DE	6'6"	335lbs	3 sacks allowed, 3 pancakes, 13 GS
Josiah Chenault	C	Rs So	Sanford, FL	6'3"	300lbs	5 sacks allowed, 4 pancakes, 13 GS
Ugonna Nwoha	EDGE	Rs Jr	Austell, GA	6'3"	255lbs	3 tackles, TFL
Trey Butts	OT	Rs Jr	Macon, GA	6'2"	295lbs	No stats
Kaleb May	T	Rs So	McCalla, AL	6'4"	270lbs	No stats
Donovan Westmoreland	LB	Rs So	Griffin, GA	6'1"	230lbs	No stats
Jaxon Colvin	EDGE	So	Geraldine, AL	6'4"	250lbs	No stats
Zamario Woodgett	OT	Fr	Smyrna, GA	6'15"	280lbs	No stats
Nasir Smith	EDGE	Fr	Loganville, GA	6'3"	275lbs	No stats
Jackson Cooper	DT	Fr	Tuscaloosa, AL	6'4"	300lbs	No stats

[Soapy]

Highlighting potential impact true freshman as spring ball is underway
KingHootMan -- KSUOwlHowl.com Football Contributor

The Kennesaw State Owls took a major step forward in their second FBS season and their first year under head coach Bubba Mack, going from a two-win program to six wins and a bowl game appearance. The Owls looked like a legitimate Conference USA team at times last year, beating then-undefeated Liberty in the regular season finale. They also got shutout just a few weeks prior against Jacksonville State, still showing signs of a struggling program making the jump from FCS.

It's a brand new team with twenty-one transfer portal additions but they're also bringing in nine high school signees, eight of which were three-stars. Here's what to expect from each of them as spring ball gets underway:

C Jalen Maddox
HS Rank National: 578 | State: 86 | Position: 16
Hometown Pensacola, FL
Height and Weight 6'2", 314lbs
Projected Role Redshirt

The Owls return just one starter along the interior of the offensive line in Brandon Best which was an area of weakness for KSU last year. They struggled to run the football consistently and a big part of that was their inability to generate much of a push, especially on the inside.

Maddox likely won't be part of the competition, at least not this season, and could be looking at a redshirt as the Owls coaching staff, led by head coach Bubba Mack who's a former offensive lineman itself, is probably looking for a more sure bet at center than a true freshman.

DT Tobias Singleton
HS Rank National: 616 | State: 93 | Position: 42
Hometown Jacksonville, FL
Height and Weight 6'5", 275lbs
Projected Role Rotational

Kennesaw State bring back Jaden Grimes, who had ten tackles for loss last year, but that's about it at defensive tackle. They get Kris Carruthers (Marshall) and Jaylin Moore (UMass) from the transfer portal but Singleton should still be a key factor in what the team is doing at defensive tackle.

He signed in the early signing period so he got a chance to partake in the winter workouts with the team and is carrying some momentum from his impressive showings at those workout into spring ball. He's a physically strong player and might already be KSU's 'prettiest looking' defensive tackle. Singleton likely starts the spring somewhere on the two-deep and it'll be up to him and his play just how big of a role he ends up having.

WR Hasheem Nwokeji
HS Rank National: 961 | State: 68 | Position: 194
Hometown Moultrie, GA
Height and Weight 6'4", 194lbs
Projected Role Flash player

The true freshman out of Moultrie is the only receiver on the roster above six-foot-four and he's one of just three players above six-foot. Eric Weatherly, the Ball State transfer, is WR1 in terms of targets most likely and slides right into that slot position. Javon Rogers, the leading returning receiver, is going to be one of the flankers but outside of that, there aren't a lot of defined spots already heading into spring.

Nwokeji's length and speed gives him a unique edge over the other players and if he can be a reliable set of hands, he might end up pushing for a starting spot by the end of the season but early on, he might be a 'flash player', similar to what we saw from Ali Joyner last year that caught 28 passes for 341 yards and two touchdowns but his drops saw his snaps fluctuate as the coaching staff just couldn't fully trust him yet

S Shakir Boudreaux
HS Rank National: 1188 | State: 84 | Position: 40
Hometown Tyrone, GA
Height and Weight 5'11", 184lbs
Projected Role Specialist

Boudreaux does one thing and one thing really well right now and that's being a physical presence near the line of scrimmage. More of a box safety at this point in his development, it's hard to imagine Boudreaux being an every-down player for the Owls until he improves in coverage. The winter workouts, without pads, don't favor someone like Boudreaux whose weakness is in coverage which was evident in the 7-on-7 periods that were made public. When the pads come on, however, he'll be able to showcase his strength.

C Josh Kilgo
HS Rank National: 1258 | State: 174 | Position: 42
Hometown Pensacola, FL
Height and Weight 6'3", 301lbs
Projected Role Redshirt

Similar to Maddox, Kilgo needs at least a year or two of baking and development before he sees the field.

EDGE George Imatorbhebhe
HS Rank National: 1363 | State: 98 | Position: 104
Hometown Moultrie, GA
Height and Weight 6'4", 227lbs
Projected Role Reserve

The Owls bring back Marcus Patterson, their top edge rusher from last year, and brought in a transfer portal addition in Samuel Riddy Jr. They have a couple of returning players as well in Elijah Harper, Byron Jackson and Dwayne Harrison.

The staff is high on Imatorbhebhe and made him a priority in recruitment but we might not see much of him this season as he might be flirting with a redshirt year unless there's an injury.

ILB Quincy Hewitt
HS Rank National: 1735 | State: 130 | Position: 110
Hometown Marietta, GA
Height and Weight 6'3", 232lbs
Projected Role Backup

The biggest recruiting win this past offseason was keeping Donelius Johnson, who comes back to KSU for his senior year. The team's leading tackler from last year, Hewitt should stay close by and soak up all of that knowledge and be ready for next spring to challenge for a starting role next season.

ILB Thomas Durbin
HS Rank National: 1855 | State: 140 | Position: 118
Hometown Warner Robins, GA
Height and Weight 6'3", 223lbs
Projected Role Borderline starter

Durbin is a candidate for being a breakout star in the spring as the Owls don't really have anyone else on their roster like him. He's got good size for the position and he's also one of the team's fastest players, regardless of position. Durbin is simply too talented to not play, especially in the transfer portal era. Donelius Johnson is going to eat up a lot of snaps and Jaiden Kimble is someone that the team projects to elevate into that starting role but if he doesn't, Durbin will be right there.

TE Tyrone Hoyt
HS Rank National: 2799 | State: 239 | Position: 134
Hometown Powder Springs, GA
Height and Weight 6'4", 212lbs
Projected Role Redshirt

The lowest ranked player in the class, Hoyt's speed and athleticism will make things interesting, especially during non-contact periods as he'll probably be the most natural pass catcher of the group. But at 212 pounds, it might be a while before the coaching staff can rely upon him to be an effective enough blocker.

[Caesar]

Bubba Mack with the shades of Coach Francois.

Having such a small and lackluster class on high school players is going to hurt you down the road I think.

[Soapy]

Bubba Mack with the shades of Coach Francois.

Having such a small and lackluster class on high school players is going to hurt you down the road I think.

I disagree, I think this is the plan going forward with a slight uptick in HS players slowly over time because many of the portal guys I signed were freshman and sophomore so they have multiple years of eligibility. If I was signing mostly seniors in the portal I would agree since they would need to be replaced every year. I'm going to be aiming for 15 HS guys each cycle with my portal size depending on how many guys leave early/portal.

[djp73]