Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Skip navigation

Seniors are out.....

Post

BOCA RATON ? Thanksgiving morning was something the 26 Florida Atlantic seniors who skipped Wednesday's practice were dreading. They had to face coach Howard Schnellenberger, who found no humor in the stunt they had pulled.

"I thought he was going to kill us, to be truthful," said running back Doug Parker.

The penalty was not death, but FAU fans will get a preview of next year's team Saturday since all the seniors have been benched for the start of the game against Edward Waters.

None of those who missed practice will start the football game, Schnellenberger said, which means 14 first-teamers will be out of the lineup.

"That's fair," said Parker, who needs 195 yards in FAU's final two games to become the Owls' first 1,000-yard rusher. "There has to be some kind of discipline."

Schnellenberger said the seniors would not see the field until sometime in the second quarter, and then just for a brief appearance. "They won't be in there more than a drive, or if they screw that up they may get another drive, and then they'll be out," Schnellenberger said. Schnellenberger said he had accepted the players' explanation that they did not think bailing out on practice was a big deal and that they didn't think Schnellenberger would be upset.

"Obviously they are players and I am a coach and they have a long way to go before they know how coaches think and feel," Schnellenberger said.

For quarterback Jared Allen, it will be his first missed start since 2001.

"We didn't want to upset anybody; we probably didn't think it all the way through," Allen said of the impromptu exodus by the seniors, who gathered at a player's house and had a cookout while the rest of the team practiced Wednesday. But their thoughts quickly turned to what was awaiting them Thursday morning.

"It was tough. I never wanted to disappoint our coaches, and it was hard facing those coaches," Allen said of the 8 a.m. meeting with Schnellenberger to explain their actions. Rather than the usual light Thursday practice without pads, the players were in full pads and practiced for 21/2 hours to make up for Wednesday's debacle.

With 14 starters among the 26 who skipped, FAU has to plug a lot of holes in the lineup for Saturday's 4 p.m. game at Lockhart Stadium. Edward Waters (8-2) will still have an uphill battle against FAU's underclassmen, since the Tigers are an NAIA school with about 15 players on scholarship. FAU (7-3) is in transition from Division I-AA to I-A and is near the 85-scholarship limit allowed by the NCAA.

"Any further silliness or immaturity will be dealt with doubly tough," Schnellenberger said.

Ted Hutton can be reached at [email protected].
Back to the top

Post

Seniors are out.....

wonderful...way to bring in 15,000..o i mean 21,000!!!!!
Back to the top

Post

Seniors are out.....

This isn't high school. Who came up with the stupid "senior prank" idea? That was a real bonehead move. It shows complete disrespect for the coaches, their teammates, and the program. Not to mention the lack of respect for Ed Waters. Teams should never overlook an opponent. These guys are going to be in for a real disappointment and look real stupid if EW comes to play and by some miracle shocks the replacement players and pulls off a W. I don't think that will happen but we are giving them about the same chance as Hawaii fans gave us in the opener and we saw what happened.

2017 and 2019 Conference USA Champions
Back to the top

Post

Seniors are out.....

Seniors are out.....

You're right. Too bad. It hurts the team, it hurts attendance prospects, it hurts relations with alumni and it makes the seniors look like kiddos, not mature men. This really should impress NFL scouts. Sad, really. Most of them seem to be very nice, serious and talented young men.

You're also right about the possibility of Edward Waters coming to play. The reserves still should be able to handle EW. But, just as you mentioned about Hawai'i, unexpected things can happen. If so, pin the loss on the seniors.

The coach was right, as usual. I was mildly surprised that he didn't bench them for the whole game, or perhaps say they wouldn't start in either the Edward Waters or FIU games. Whatever happens, I support him. Discipline and consistency are keys to solid performances. Building a program takes toughness, not childishness.
Back to the top

Post

Seniors are out.....

Am I the only one who thinks people are overreacting to this? The seniors will sit out the first quarter and then play the second quarter. Most of them weren't going to play more than a quarter anyway. All the talk on the board for the past week has been excitement over getting to watch the younger guys play.

All the seniors, every single one of them in a surprising show of unity, decided to get together and share some memories from the past 4-5 years instead of practice. I don't think they could have picked a better time to do it.

Sure you can talk about responcibility and commitment, but then you're probably then ones who got perfect attendance awards in high school too.

Personally, I know I never cut class or skipped a practice. ;)

President of the No Homers Club. Keepin' it real since 2001.
Back to the top

Post

Seniors are out.....


Am I the only one who thinks people are overreacting to this? The seniors will sit out the first quarter and then play the second quarter. Most of them weren't going to play more than a quarter anyway. All the talk on the board for the past week has been excitement over getting to watch the younger guys play.

All the seniors, every single one of them in a surprising show of unity, decided to get together and share some memories from the past 4-5 years instead of practice. I don't think they could have picked a better time to do it.

Sure you can talk about responcibility and commitment, but then you're probably then ones who got perfect attendance awards in high school too.

Personally, I know I never cut class or skipped a practice. ;)

You aren't the only one. Maybe it was a dumb thing for the seniors to do, but there are some positives that will come out of it. It gives the underclassmen an opportunity to play extensive minutes, although they would have anyway. It also lets them get the chance to see what it takes to prepare for a game as starters.
Back to the top

Post

Seniors are out.....

No Canadianowl, not everyone seems to think this was as bad as some people will have you believe. These boys/men have been through many things together. Besides the coaching staff, THEY are one of the main reason for the success of this team. It was their loyalty to an idea, their hard work in the dog days of summer, their commitment to each other and the building of this team, that has allowed us to enjoy a phenominal four years. There was no team without the commitment from these kids. It just so happens that all your boasting of future BIG games would not be a reality, were it not for the sweat and hard work these seniors put out day in and day out, 365 days a year. The coaches, the media, and even some of you on this very board have been anxious to look past this year, thus selling these seniors short.

I think this last show of unity, however misguided as it may be, is a true testament to their character. I also think that most of these guys were not going to play very much in this game anyway. We should all stand up and take our hats off to these guys, because as sure as I'm standing, we'll never see a better group of people grace our field, week after week, no matter how high the talent level. Thank you Seniors! Go Owls!

Besides, it's the only press we got all week! As the saying goes "Bad press is better than no press!" This will only help attendance, I really don't see how it can hurt it.
Back to the top

Post

Seniors are out.....

My first reaction was, how irresponsible the seniors were, but in retrospec this was nothing major and shouldn't be considered an embarassment for this program, unless we want it to be.

This is a group of guys that started this program, many of which are the Iron man, played in every game of this young franchise. Remember that a lot of pressure was put on this group of young men not only to build this program, but bring the type of success that will cary the program forward as it grows into the vision that was set out from the very beggining. Not only did they have to become better athletes, but founders.

With out them and the success they acheived, the talk of the on campus stadium would not even be close to being a reality. Sometimes I have forgotten that these are young men and this is still a young program, that has come a long way since it's birth.

What they did was childish, but I think they have earned the right to be the young men they are for one
more day. This is a group that have been together for 5 great years that were expected to do more then play football and naturally formeds a great bond among themselves and realizing that after the season thiing will chance for them. So why not get together and reflect on what they have accomplished.

I know my expectation have been high at times, but only wanted to see this group succeed for all their hard work and successes.

The seniors wanted to have the kind of success that would have enabled FAU to sell-out the home games, ever time. With all they have accoplished on and off the field, I for one is guilty of wanting more from them, but I also realize that they have done more then you could ask from a group of young men. These guys are winners and the one thing that made me fall for this team is - they have heart and are fighters.

Thank you seniors for giving us FAU football, it took courage just to be an Owl and start something we all will be able to enjoy for many years to come.



Back to the top

Post

Seniors are out.....

Excuse me CanadienOwl, fauowls44,TINY and Bytor while I go and throw-up, because you guys are making me sick.
My first thought was that the trainer must be dumping "STUPID PILLS" in the gatorade. WHAT WERE THESE GUYS THINKING? What could possibly be wrong with waiting until the end of the season to pat themselves on the back for being Gods gift to FAU football. HELLOOOOOO….McFLY. ANYBODY THERE????
Personally, I think Coach S. is being too lenient and should have the whole bunch of dimwits ride the pine for the whole game. I hope the 2nd team blows EW out so they get to play all 4 quarters. These are the guys who deserve the credit for being at practice even though they don't see alot of action. I think it's wrong for Schnellenberger to use them to punish the prima-donna starters for 1 qtr.
If I went to the game (which I'm not) I would be the one in the stands with the banner that reads "Cook Out At Coker's At The Half". I bet I'd get a few seniors to bite.
Back to the top

Post

Seniors are out.....


Excuse me CanadienOwl, fauowls44,TINY and Bytor while I go and throw-up, because you guys are making me sick.
My first thought was that the trainer must be dumping "STUPID PILLS" in the gatorade. WHAT WERE THESE GUYS THINKING? What could possibly be wrong with waiting until the end of the season to pat themselves on the back for being Gods gift to FAU football. HELLOOOOOO….McFLY. ANYBODY THERE????
Personally, I think Coach S. is being too lenient and should have the whole bunch of dimwits ride the pine for the whole game. I hope the 2nd team blows EW out so they get to play all 4 quarters. These are the guys who deserve the credit for being at practice even though they don't see alot of action. I think it's wrong for Schnellenberger to use them to punish the prima-donna starters for 1 qtr.
If I went to the game (which I'm not) I would be the one in the stands with the banner that reads "Cook Out At Coker's At The Half". I bet I'd get a few seniors to bite.

I'm sorry, but after four years of not only playing football, but building a program, I think we can maybe go a little easy on them. Was it a stupid prank? Sure. But I think the punishment is appropriate and they should just move on.
Back to the top
Control functions: