The following is a story published in the Marietta Daily Journal on June 12 recapping Kennesaw State Director of Athletics Vaughn Williams and head coach Brian Bohannon's visit to the newspaper's office on June 9 where they addressed the Georgia Sports Writers Association on the current state of the Kennesaw State football program.
By Adam Carrington
Marietta Daily Journal
MARIETTA — Kennesaw State athletic director Vaughn Williams said the Owls have no intentions of leaving the Atlantic Sun Conference and is pursuing a conference where they could be an associate football member.
“The conference will probably find me before I find it,” Williams said at the Georgia Sports Writers Association meeting at the Marietta Daily Journal offices. “A lot of discussion is happening. It has happened in the last couple of weeks. A lot of the FCS conferences and mid-majors are deciding which direction they are going to go. Our job is to make sure we are the topic of discussion.
“We’re just looking for a place to play football.”
The Southern Conference is now an unlikely choice for Kennesaw State, having just welcomed Atlantic Sun members East Tennessee State and Mercer and former Southern Conference member VMI. Williams said the Owls may not be a good fit with the private school sector of the conference.
However, the Big South, Ohio Valley and Colonial Athletic Association are still potential options.
While Williams is working on finding a conference and working on completing Kennesaw State’s schedule for its inaugural season in 2015, new coach Brian Bohannon is trying to put together a schedule for his staff this fall.
“It will be a unique situation,” Bohannon said. “This is probably the first time since I was 8-years old that I don’t have my fall planned out for me. I’ve been a water boy, ball boy, jersey boy, player and a coach my whole life.”
A large amount of that time will be recruiting — which he said is a 365-day-a-year job — and initially there is no plan to go beyond the Georgia state lines.
After hiring his first three assistants – offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut and assistants Liam Klein and Shane Bowen – the small KSU staff visited close to 460 high schools in a four-week span.
Bohannon has recently added new members to his staff – head of football operations Jay Bailey, A-backs coach Tim Glanton and quarterbacks coach Brett Gilliland – to help implement his plan. A defensive coordinator is expected to be hired later this month.
The Owls are expected to sign their first class in February of 2014, which will consist of 25 to 30 players.
To aid in the recruitment, the Owls will host a summer football camp in July and will spend the fall months visiting other college programs to see how games and practices are run.
Once Kennesaw State signs its first class next February, Bohannon said the team will hold an open tryout in the spring. Bohannon said he expects to some of those tryout players to help fill roster positions on the first team.
“We’ve already had guys who told me they are coming to school and are waiting on that tryout,” Bohannon said. “A lot of men will want to come back closer to home. We will supplement with that and try to get (numbers) up to 65 or 70. When we bring them in in the fall, we should have enough to practice.”
