Courtesy of a thread on the Troy Board…

Scout.com: 2008 Spring Preview - The Sun Belt

Florida Atlantic:

The early spring buzz …

It's been well documented how the program was built by Howard Schnelleberger from scratch, and last year was the culmination of one of the most surprising and successful stories in college football history. Florida players are starting to take notice. No, FAU didn't exactly steal players away from Florida and Miami, but it beat out some bigger name programs for a few key recruits, like RB Xavier Stinson, and it's certainly on the radar for every mid-level player in the greater Miami area.

The big spring question is …

Will the defense get into the backfield … ever? The defensive front is built on quickness and athleticism on the outside, but it almost never got to the quarterback and rarely made plays behind the line. That's the one main thing missing from a defense that was one of the best in the Sun Belt. Instead of giving up 31 points per game, if it can allow around 26, that would lead to another winning season.

The most important position to watch is …

Running back. Stinson probably won't see the field until 2009, but he might be thrown into the mix earlier than expected if Charles Pierre and William Rose don't start providing more of a punch. Everyone will be focusing on stopping Rusty Smith and the Owl passing game, so there will be plenty of opportunities to get the ground game working. Now a runner has to take advantage of the chance.

Spring attitude…

Do it again. With ten starters returning on offense, not including dangerous receiver Frantz Simeon, who missed all of last year after not going to class, and eight starters returning on defense, the defending champions will have no real excuse not to go to another New Orleans Bowl. At least thats's the attitude. Schnellenberger wont let his team shoot for anything lower.

;D ;D ;D