Kennesaw State’s portal overhaul fuels quarterback battle, eyes Tennessee test

Kennesaw State’s winter portal splurge — a Jan. 21, 2026 class of 28 transfers, listed as 14 defensive, 12 offensive and two specialists — rewrote the Owl roster and thrust the quarterback position into scramble mode. The additions include Syracuse transfer Rickie Collins, who started five games for the Orange in 2025, and arrive after Amari Odom, Kennesaw State’s 2025 starter and Conference USA Championship Game MVP, transferred to Syracuse following a 2025 season that produced roughly 2,594 passing yards and 19 touchdowns. Head coach Jerry Mack called the class "an excellent group of young men and we're excited to have them join the Kennesaw State family."

That turnover moved beyond spring-pageantry because the Owls open 2026 with a high-leverage nonconference test: a Sept. 19, 2026 trip to Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. Spring practice, which the program began in early March and closed with a spring game on April 11 at Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium, became the first real window to evaluate chemistry and timing between Collins and the new supporting cast that replaced Odom’s production.

Kennesaw State’s defense offers a concrete reason the overhaul might buy the Owls time while the offense sorts out personnel. Baron Hopson finished 2025 as the team’s leading tackler with roughly 138–139 tackles and 10 tackles-for-loss, and Marcus Patterson, a transfer from Western Kentucky, posted low-to-mid 30s tackle totals with roughly 5–6 TFL. The unit’s 2025 body of work, roughly a #73 national rank in opponent points-per-game metrics, establishes a defensive floor KSU can lean on as offensive reps are allocated among Collins and other contenders.

The portal that produced Kennesaw State’s class was not an isolated event: the winter-only window ran Jan. 2–Jan. 16, 2026 and produced more than 10,500 entries across all divisions, with upward of 6,700 Division I players entering during that two-week period. That velocity explains comparable upheaval at other programs: Bowling Green’s offseason turnover, addressed publicly by coach Eddie George — who said BGSU "got better" and that the staff "addressed every issue" — played out in a spring game on April 11 at Doyt L. Perry Stadium where new quarterback additions such as Oregon transfer Austin Novosad took early reps.

For Kennesaw State the immediate questions are measurable and time-sensitive: who wins the starting QB job after spring reps, which of the 28 newcomers can translate experience into consistent execution, and whether the offense can be synchronized before a national-stage trip to Neyland. With pro scouts already cataloging small-school talent — Baron Hopson appears on draft/ prospect trackers — those answers will determine whether the portal haul is a quick fix or the foundation for sustaining the program after a 10-4 2025 season, a Conference USA title on Dec. 5, 2025 and a first bowl appearance on Dec. 19, 2025.