Rico Zackery enters his third season as the defensive ends coach/special team coordinator at Kennesaw State in 2021. He comes to the Owls after a successful run as a high school head coach and a stint at Georgia Southern.
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Zackery helped guide the Owls to the No. 3 total defense in the country in 2019, as the defensive ends helped Kennesaw State suffocate opponents at every turn.
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The Owls set a new school record in 2019 with 104.0 tackles for loss to rank No. 11 in the country. Defensive end standout Desmond Johnson, Jr. led the team with 17.0 TFL’s on the year as he became the fourth player in league history to earn first team All-Big South honors four times in a career.
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Zackery joined the Kennesaw State staff after spending the last two seasons as head coach at Villa Rica High School in Carrollton, Ga., following one season as director of recruiting operations at Georgia Southern. Prior to his stint with the Golden Eagles, Zackery served five years at Central Carroll High School in Carrollton, Ga., holding the positions of defensive coordinator (2011-12) under current Owls’ offensive coordinator Grant Chesnut and head coach and co-athletic director (2013-15).
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In three years at CCHS, he led his team to a 30-6 record and a 5-AAA Region Title in 2014. He was named Times Georgian Coach of the year in 2013, and Region 5-AAA coach of the year in 2014.
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Zackery played defensive back at Georgia Southern from 2002-2006, where he was a member of the 2002 and 2004 Southern Conference Championship teams.
