By: Austin Williams
Head coach Brian Bohannon told his team to focus on themselves heading into game three against the San José State Spartans after two tough contests to open the 2024 campaign.
The Owls are coming off back-to-back defeats, but Bohannon is still challenging his team to fight through the adversity and focus on winning as a team.
"I talked with the team, challenged them and their participation," Bohannon said in Monday's press conference. "We have to go to work. We have to play every repetition and every practice like our life depends on it."
The coaches and players feel the same way, and Davis Bryson - the Owls starting quarterback - is excited to show what the offense can do against San José State.
"This offense is going to be electric, and it's going to be a fun game," Bryson said. "We have a multiple set offense; it's fun and allows us to put the ball in our playmakers' hands."
Bryson believes the Owls can rally by fixing their own mistakes and embracing one another as a team.
"We believe we can line up and beat anybody across from us," Bryson said. "We are doing a good job of staying together as a team. Coach keeps telling us to worry about our team, do our job to the best of our abilities and stay together."
The Woodbridge, Va. native currently leads the Owl offense in rushing and passing yards, but he understands there is always room for improvement.
"We really need to hone in on those smaller details of all of our jobs," Bryson said. "We need to know that it's not about the opponent, and if we focus on what we have to do, we can come out and compete with anybody."
The Owl defense will face an explosive San José State passing offense, but redshirt junior defensive back Tyler Hallum is excited for the Owls to be on national television and show that Kennesaw State is better than its record suggests.
"We have a chip on our shoulder and have a lot to prove this week," Hallum said. "We're coming in ready to play, going to be fired up, have better communication and come in and surprise some people."
Both the Owl coaches and players know they've got to play faster and have more energy each play, Hallum emphasizng that the defense needs to improve on it going into San José State.
"We need to bring more energy going into this game," Hallum said. "We need to work on a little bit of everything defensively:communication, flying around and being aggressive."
The Owls visit the San José State Spartans on Sep. 14 at 7 p.m. ET inside CEFCU Stadium. Fans can watch the game on truTV or streaming via the Max app.
