KENNESAW, Ga. — As a freshman in the marching band at South Cobb High School, Ugonna Nwoha carried a sousaphone around his shoulders, which for those who don’t know, is an instrument in the tuba family that wraps around the player’s body. 

Now a fifth-year senior and leader on the Owls defense, Nwoha has a much different wrap around his body. 

Growing up, football was never a discussion in the Nwoha household. His mother wasn’t a fan of the sport, and was concerned about the risk of injury. It wasn’t until his junior year of high school that Ugonna put on pads and a helmet for the first time, inspired by his brother Uchenna. 

“Seeing him play ball just made me want to play ball,” Nwoha said. “Seeing him have fun with the boys after school and having something to do after school was something I wanted to get involved in.”

In his two seasons with South Cobb, Nwoha did a little bit of everything. He played at fullback, nose guard and defensive end before walking on to Kennesaw State for the 2022 season.

After spending three seasons with no scholarship, Nwoha entered the transfer portal before a conversation with new Kennesaw State head coach Jerry Mack in the spring of 2025 ultimately swayed his decision to return.

“He told me to forget everything and leave it all [the past three seasons] in the past,” he said. “He gave me his resume and I trusted him as a coach. I love Kennesaw and the culture here. I have friends and family 30 minutes from here, so it’s not really a place I wanted to leave.”

Mack had a feeling Nwoha, a hometown kid, was someone he wanted to keep on his 2025 team. When he decided to stay, it meant a lot to the Owls head coach. 

“It means the world to me and Ugonna has a great story,” said Mack. “He had jumped in the portal and we sat down and had a conversation and I said ‘let’s see where the spring takes us’. He had a great first spring we were here, earned himself a scholarship, and all he’s been doing since then is earning trust and earning respect on the team.” 

The trust and respect have earned Nwoha more than just a scholarship. 

“He’s one of five guys on the leadership council because of the way the guys respect him and the way he carries himself,” Mack said. “I’m just really proud of the man that he is, the leader that he is, and what he exemplifies as a KSU student-athlete.” 

Nwoha played all 14 games in 2025 for the Owls, and looks poised to contribute even more to the 2026 defense. In the season opener against West Georgia, he forced two quarterback hurries with one strip-sack and a tackle for loss.

In the classroom, he studies cybersecurity and has a passion for programming.

“I was always thinking mechanical engineering, but I wasn’t really for doing all of that math,” he said. “I never thought about cybersecurity, but my little brother and I really like programming and it’s something that we do for fun.” 

While his coaches and teammates say he’s all business, Nwoha paints a bit of a different picture. Off the field, he’s a gamer at heart and loves playing them with his friends.

“They like to say I’m a serious guy, but off the field you could dang near say I’m a teddy bear,” he joked. “I like to play video games, go to the range, go fishing, but I don’t really party or none of that. There can be a lot of distractions in life and I just want to stay to myself.” 

“He’s always a very serious person, so when he smiles you know it’s got to be something important,” joked coach Mack. 

One thing Nwoha wants people to know about him is that he can do backflips, front flips and handsprings of any kind.

After earning his degree this year, his first goal is to make it to the NFL.

“Stay with the plan and keep the main thing the main thing” he said. “Come every day to work and keep your head down. Nobody is going to outwork you or tell you that you can’t do something. Only you can tell yourself you can’t do something.”