E.A.T. is the recipe for success for the Kennesaw (Ga.) State football team. Effort. Attitude. Toughness. E.A.T. is the foundation the Owls football program has been built on. Coach Brian Bohannon took over the new upstart program in 2014. That year, he had a bunch of young, hungry guys that came in and only practiced for the first season in preparation for their first game in 2015. No one would’ve believed the fast ascension they were to about make. After posting a 6-5 record during the inaugural season and 8-3 mark in the second season, the Owls have made two straight FCS quarterfinal playoff appearances. This past season (their fourth), also lead them to be ranked as high as No. 2 for a portion of the year. This team is loaded with great players, but much of the credit goes to the vision of the man they chose to lead the program.

Coach Bohannon had a vision of what he wanted his team to look like on film. When teams played the Owls, he wanted to look fast and athletic. He said, “I want coaches to watch film and notice that we are well-disciplined and well-coached and that we play with unbelievable effort, attitude and toughness.” That’s the credo that set his program on fire.

Let us show you how it's done.#EAT20ne | 🦉⚠️ pic.twitter.com/4HHNibVdbM

— Kennesaw State E.A.T. Zone (@KSUEATzone) March 7, 2019

None of the success has come as a surprise to Bohannon. When he took over the reins, Kennesaw State was able to practice for an entire year (2014) before playing any games. This can be very challenging in itself. Coach Bohannon said they had 75 practices before stepping onto the field for their first game. They practiced three weeks on and one week off during that first season. During this time, he molded his team into one that modeled their mantra, E.A.T. It’s everywhere in the program, including on the plate on their helmets. The first year was all about establishing culture.

RELATED CONTENT: Learn how Kennesaw State runs Inside Veer

It was also a year where you can get a lot of reps in on an offense that really needs them. Week-to-week during the regular season, any team that runs a triple option sees a hodgepodge of different defenses. Without an opponent to prepare for, Coach Bohannon prepared for any defense he could think of. He also instilled a belief in his team that there is an answer to most anything you will see. He spent the first year selling that vision to the players.

Every coach in the country preaches effort, attitude and toughness, but Coach Bohannon decided to go one step farther and installed an offense that embodied the type of team he visualized. When asked about the success of his team, Bohannon attributed much of it to their triple option offense. He wanted to install it for several reasons.

1. It works no matter what, and there is an answer for every scenario.

2. It develops team, selflessness and toughness.

In an upstart program, this was all the more important, needing everyone to sell out for the betterment of the team. The Owls used the extra practice time they had to create their own identity within the offense. When you watch them, they do a little more than a traditional triple option offense by running some RPOs along with a very effective jet sweep. But more than anything, they play and practice hard.

That E.A.T. acronym was going to be the foundation in which the Owl’s football program was built on. Above all in this culture, they were going to be who they were going to be. In the first year before playing any games, they let the kids develop a sense of pride and let them know what they were actually going to be about. Effort, attitude and toughness laid the foundation for everything they did. Coach Bohannon said, “Your 40 time and your bench press have nothing to do with it. Hard work on the field and in the classroom is going to lay the foundation for future Kennesaw State players.” This is tradition in the making.

RELATED CONTENT: 4 key elements to a winning culture

When you have the pleasure to watch Kennesaw State, you see a team that never wavers very far from its basics. But Coach Bohannon is also an innovator that has opened up the offense. They run a little RPO and their personnel also allow them to get in shot gun some and run a really great quick pass game. With the nuances they have, the team never gets away from their fundamentals and offensive identity. Coach Bohannon and his staff were very welcoming to talk about philosophy and their offense.

Terry Donovan is a Master Trainer for USA Football’s Heads Up Football program. He is the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks and B- backs coach for Kasson-Mantorville High School in Kasson, Minnesota. He has coached with the U.S. National Team Program. He also serves as a youth coach and director of youth development in the Kasson-Mantorville Youth Football Association.