Charley doesn?t scare these Owls away
FAU Football

Published Saturday, August 14, 2004
by Hannon Deutsch


While the National Hurricane Center kept a close eye on Hurricane Charley, Florida Atlantic University football head coach Howard Schnellenberger was closely tracking the progress of his squad as they strapped on full pads for the first time.
As Charley, which was upgraded to a Category 4 storm before it reached land, was busy pummeling Florida?s west coast Friday, the Owls were hitting each other on the field as winds gusted to 16-20 mph. And although the weather didn?t get progressively worse, the coaches and players were prepared nonetheless. Just ask wide receiver Roosevelt Bynes, who took it upon himself to ask Schnellenberger if he would move up the practice time so they could get some much-needed work in.
?The weather was a big factor at first, but Schnelley is like a God,? Bynes said. ?When he comes out here and says don?t rain, there is no rain. I was really one of the one?s that went to Schnellenberger and asked him if we could come out here and practice early so we could get it over with and not get caught in the storm. We really needed this practice, so it worked out for the best.?<br>After warming up, the first team offense opened practice by concentrating on passing routes with tight ends Anthony Crissinger-Hill, Dantson Dareus and Ben Coker. The remainder of practice focused on situational drills, such as fourth-and-nine with two minutes left, and the power running attack.
The receivers ran 10 - 15 yard routes against the secondary and the linebackers without a defensive line pressuring quarterback Jared Allen. On one play away from the ball, Bynes put a lick on free safety Taheem Acevedo. After Acevedo got up, Bynes walked away screaming, ?That?s the weight room right there.? Two plays later, Bynes burned corner Rickey Bethel for a touchdown.
?I felt great out here today,? said Bynes, who noted his 40-yard speed was around a 4.3. The majority of the time was spent on the ground game with senior backs Doug Parker, Daveon Barron, Anthony Jackson and Dekolan James getting reps against the first team defense. On the first play Parker marched 35 yards down the right sideline before he cut back through the middle for the score.
?Our main focus is trying to get the running game right because right now we know we can throw and catch,? Bynes said. ?We all want to be up on our blocking techniques. The O-Line is really young right now, so we?re trying to get them more experience.?<br>In total, the Owls executed a total of 20 running plays. More often than not, the backs broke through the defensive line for substantial gains. Defensive coordinator Kirk Hoza said there was a mental lapse at times where coverages and assignments were blown. Naturally, the Owls still need to work out some kinks, but overall progress has moved along well.
?We had mental errors that in the past three days we hadn?t really had,? Hoza said. ?Granted, we?re continuing to input coverages and other fronts, but we hadn?t had guys that totally blew coverages. That?s just a clear indication that they?re not thinking about the play in front of them, but something else.?<br>Notes: Senior linebacker Kinyumba Mutkabbir rode the stationary bike during practice. Mutkabbir, who sat out last year after injuring his achilles tendon, aggravated his right hamstring during wind sprints on Wednesday…Freshman running back Charles Pierre looked strong, making the most of his reps by knocking over would-be defenders against the second-team defense…The team holds three practices today and one Sunday.