Rome’s Johnson among Big South’s best of decade
The Kennesaw State football team has only played five seasons, but one would not know it based on the selections for the Big South Conference All-Decade Team.
The Owls had six members of the program named to the 37-person squad this week — quarterback Chandler Burks, linebackers Bryson Armstrong and Anthony Gore Jr., defensive lineman Desmond Johnson Jr., kicker Justin Thompson and coach Brian Bohannon.
“It’s a testament of every young man and every coach who has stepped in this building,” said Bohannon, who has led the team to two conference championships and three Football Championship Subdivision playoff berths. “It has been unbelievably special. I couldn’t be happier for them. They all got their degrees, and they are going to do great things.”
Bohannon joined Coastal Carolina’s Joe Moglia as one of only two coaches selected for the all-decade team.
Candidates for the all-decade team had to meet certain criteria — being either a multiple all-conference honoree, an All-American or a member of the Big South Conference Hall of Fame — and they had to have graduated or been in good academic standing at their school. Coaches had to have won a conference title or be voted as a conference coach of the year.
Kennesaw State’s selections were the third-most behind only Coastal Carolina (11) and Liberty (7) — both of which have since moved up to the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Eleven programs were eligible for the team, which was selected by a 15-person committee of Big South administrators, in addition to online fan voting that comprised of 20% of the overall total.
The Owls’ defense and special teams units led the selections with four.
Armstrong rivals Burks as the most decorated player in program history, and he still has a year to go. A Jerry Rice Award winner as the best FCS freshman in 2017, he has also been a two-time All-American, and he is the reigning Big South Defensive Player of the Year.
“I guess I’m one of the younger guys selected,” said Armstrong, already the team record-holder in tackles, solo tackles and sacks. “The Big South is a prestigious conference. A ton of great players have played in it, and it’s just an honor to be part of the team.”
Gore finished his career with 275 tackles, which is second in program history. He also finished with 42 tackles for loss, including a single-season team record of 17 in 2018.
The 2018 Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Gore was a three-time All-Conference selection and, in 2019, signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.
Johnson is one of only four players in Big South history to earn firstteam all-conference honors all four years. He leads Kennesaw State with 43 career tackles for loss, 17 sacks and five forced fumbles.
Thompson was named the 2017 Big South Conference Special Teams Player of the Year and earned firstteam AFCA All-America honors. A two-time all-conference selection, he holds nearly every kicking record in program history. Thompson finished his career 196-of-202 on extra points, made 40 field goals and his 316 points is second in program history.
Burks, entering his first season as Kennesaw State’s quarterbacks coach, was the only Owls player selected on the offensive side of the ball.
He rushed for 2,813 yards and 56 touchdowns for his career, was a twotime Big South Offensive Player of the Year and the runner-up for the 2018 Walter Payton Award as the best offensive player in the FCS. That season, he ran for 29 touchdowns to set an FCS single-season record by a quarterback.
“It’s an honor,” Burks said. “I’m humbled.”
Burks also said he could not have had the career he did without his teammates. He added that the biggest thing he earned over his career was the relationships he had with those guys in the locker room.
“I think back to the OGs,” he said referring to the “original gangsters,” or the group of players from the inaugural Kennesaw State signing class. “We did those things together.”
Bohannon and Burks agreed that there were a number of players who could have made the all-decade team that did not. Both could have been referring to the fact that after being near the top of the national rushing statistics for the last five years, not a single offensive lineman was chosen, including former All-Americans C.J. Collins and Zach Mitchler.
“It’s the nature of what we do,” Bohannon said. “It’s all about the team.”