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2019 FAU Spring Football

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To me, the most important word in Lane's quote is "accountable" - to be accountable means that kids learn and adapt/get better/overcome.  Like I said, I truly do hope that is where Robison is after this latest suspension/issue.  Competition at every position is a good thing.  So having multiple capable options especially at QB would be an excellent problem to have.

And I don't have a problem at all with guys having fun, nor do I think they need to be micro-managed.  They are just 18-22 year olds, so they are going to make mistakes and are going to be kids.  I was once a college football player who certainly would approve of the non-prison approach!  At the same time, Lane's quote along with the fact that he has suspended CR for the Spring means there is something Lane deems undisciplined enough to hold him accountable (again).  That and the fact that Robison is not on the field to me is what is the most relevant.
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Florida Atlantic University’s football team completed their final practice Thursday morning in preparation for the Owls’ Saturday scrimmage at Miami’s Moore Park, located at 765 N.W. 36 Street, Miami, 33127. The Moore Park practice is free and open to the public.

FAU will take the field at 12:30 p.m. Saturday April 6th as part of their efforts to reach out to the community while working towards their 2019 championship goals.

Zyon Gilbert On what the defense needs to do this weekend

“For Saturday, the defense just has to try to play mistake-free football,” said Gilbert. “I’m not saying we are not going to make mistakes. They are going to happen, but we have to make sure we don’t make a lot of mistakes, get to the ball, get a lot of turnovers and just keep the offense down, real low.”

 
Practice Notables

· Overall the defense won the day during team-run drills. Following a five-yard run up the middle by junior quarterback Justin Agner, the defense forced a fumble

· Following a defensive stop, redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Tronti hit redshirt junior James Charles for a 15-yard gain

· Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jordan Merrell went up the ladder in coverage to haul in a pass

· Agner led the offense down the field, but saw his scoring drive ended on a pass breakup by freshman defensive back Dwight Toombs II,  a pass intended for senior tight end Harrison Bryant

· Junior linebacker Akileis Leroy hauled in a tipped pass for an interception

· BJ Emmons, a newcomer junior running back, caught a screen pass from Tronti for a chain-moving gain during team, which was followed by a pass to redshirt senior wideout James Brunson

· During team goal line drills, Troni’s offense scored three consecutive times while the following offensive unit was denied twice

- FAU SID Katrina McCormack
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On the opening drive of Florida Atlantic University football’s Saturday’s scrimmage at Miami’s Moore Park, one thing was made clear. The Owls’ defense had one thing on its mind and that was avenging last week’s performance by dominating the second spring scrimmage of 2019.

Each of FAU’s four quarterbacks worked to get a drive started, but no matter the option, it was answered by a celebrating Owl defense.

QB Nick Tronti On the Play of the Offense

“We didn’t have it today,” said Tronti. “A couple of plays we made, kinda late during the scrimmage. (In) two–minute, (we) made a couple of plays, but (the) defense came out with more intensity and they kicked our butt today…defense had a bad day last Saturday. They came out and kicked our butt. It is always good to see something like that.”

Session Notables

· In the Owls’ third drive of the day, redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Tronti found senior tight end Harrison Bryant to move the chains for the first time of the day. Moments later the defense registered their third stop of the day on 4th-and-1It was then the afternoon’s highlight reel began with an interception by redshirt freshman Armani Adams and then defensive lineman and graduate student Ray Ellis batted a ball down in open space, made possible by the pressure applied on the quarterback by Ellis’ fellow defender

· With junior quarterback Justin Agner under center, the Owls recorded another sack

· Tronti returned only to see senior corner Chris Tooley break up a pass intended for redshirt junior receiver John Mitchell and Tooley later added a fumble recovery to his day’s work

· It was then time for redshirt freshman quarterback Cordel Littlejohn and redshirt junior signal caller Trent Wessell to stand in. Littlejohn worked the running game with sophomore running back Malcolm Davidson breaking free for a 20-yard gain and Wessell connected with redshirt junior running back Chauncey Mason for a similar gain, but by air

· Agner returned to the field to lead the Owls on their longest drive of the day thus far but it stalled at the defensive 25. Vladimir Rivas, a redshirt sophomore, was called into action and made good on his first field goal attempt of the day. In all, Rivas made good on two of the three field goals he attempted

· In his next drive, Agner hit Mitchell a with scoring strike

· Senior Jefftey Joseph caught a 10-yard pass from Tronti, but the defense recorded another sack, this time led by freshman linebacker Jakai Linwood and sophomore defensive end Jaylen Joyner. That was then followed up with an interception by junior corner Diashun Moss

· The offense was not without its spark and that came via junior wide receiver Willie Wright. Wright came up just short of a deep catch up the middle before it was ruled incomplete. Agner, seeing something he liked, went to Wright once more, this time for a 60-yard scoring reception. The extra point was made by sophomore newcomer Christian Hoyos

· Wessell led the offense down the field hitting junior receiver Eiland D’Angelo. Wessell then tossed to redshirt freshman tight end Shane Ellis, who used his legs to extend the play for the score. Rivas made good on the extra point attempt

· Junior linebacker Hosea Barnwell V batted down a pass and junior safety Quran Hafiz followed it up with a sack as did senior defensive lineman Charles Cameron

· Tronti then found redshirt sophomore receiver Jordan Merrell, who had a toe-tapping catch and score. Hoyos made the extra point attempt

· Agner used his feet and his arm on the next drive that ended with Rivas connecting on a 42-yarder

· The day ended as it began with the defense celebrating following an interception

The team will return to the Oxley Center practice fields Tuesday, April 9 at 9:30 AM. which is closed to the public.
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As spring practice advances, and little by little more team info is released, I feel less confident of a good season..  
 A  spring game with no tackling?. Are we that shallow .  Footballs upward projection is not happening.
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The JUCO recruiting for the past two years is hurting us hard now. A lot of them didn't pan out and tons of wasted effort training students who didn't ever hit the field. I think depth is a huge problem for us.

We have a bunch of amazing athletes coming in our new class but who knows if they'll be ready to play day one. Fall camp should be exciting
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Tuesday marked the beginning of Florida Atlantic University’s week of prep leading into the 2019 Spring Game, scheduled for 2:00 PM Saturday at FAU Stadium.

Tuesday’s practice also was the first practice following the team’s second scrimmage. Saturday’s scrimmage saw the Owls’ defense respond in a big way avenging the first scrimmage of the spring which the offense won. The third scrimmage, which also is FAU’s Spring Game, will switch formats from an offense versus defense to a more traditional format.

Head Coach Lane Kiffin

Saturday Recap

“The defense played a lot better, which is usually the case, kinda reversing roles from the week before, a lot of times. They came with a lot of energy, a lot of early stops. Really all units on the defense played really well. Later on, the quarterbacks and receivers made a few big plays, but weren’t able to run the ball as well as the week before.”

On quarterback progress noted, if any

“A lot. I think they have been really consistent, for two young guys when they haven’t played here. I think obviously that that was a concern coming in. They have managed it really well. We seem to not be making as many mistakes as we were a year ago at that position and the receiver group from an administrative standpoint.”


Practice Notables

· Early on, after some nice defensive stops, redshirt junior running back Chauncey Mason broke loose for a big run off the left edge

· Junior linebacker Hosea Barnwell V jumped a route for a pass breakup

· During 3rd down drills, defensive end Leighton McCarthy tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage, and it was caught by senior corner Chris Tooley in stride for a pick-six

· A handful of snaps later, quarterback Nick Tronti found tight end Harrison Bryant to move the chains

· Tronti later connected with wideout Brandon Robinson for a long gain, and found senior receiver John Mitchell as well, over the middle

· During team, Justin Agner hooked up with Robinson down the sideline, and he nearly broke loose for a score

· Going the distance untouched was redshirt sophomore running back Daniel Leconte

· Junior safety Quran Hafiz stood up a pass catcher on a screen pass for no gain, and fellow defensive back Da’Von Brown picked off a pass at the goal line

· Junior running back BJ Emmons plunged into the end zone late

· Near the very end, Tronti led redshirt senior wideout James Brunson over the middle on a crossing route for a touchdown


The team will return to the Oxley Center practice fields Thursday, April 11 at 9:30 AM. Practices are closed to the general public.

FAU SID Katrina McCormack
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Local Owl said

As spring practice advances, and little by little more team info is released, I feel less confident of a good season..  
 A  spring game with no tackling?. Are we that shallow .  Footballs upward projection is not happening.
Posted On: Apr 9th 2019, 4:58 PM #385863

Most schools do not tackle in the spring.

The big boys can a little because it's easy when you are stacked with 4-5 stars and many get more than 3 early enrollies.
Schools like Clemson have 17 true freshmen in camp.

Welcome to life for most G5 schools where 2-3 injuries can derail a season.

FAU is adding around 40 bodies between 2019 class and PWO for fall camp.
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faufan2017 said

The JUCO recruiting for the past two years is hurting us hard now. A lot of them didn't pan out and tons of wasted effort training students who didn't ever hit the field. I think depth is a huge problem for us.

We have a bunch of amazing athletes coming in our new class but who knows if they'll be ready to play day one. Fall camp should be exciting
Posted On: Apr 9th 2019, 6:20 PM #385864


This. The whole JUCO thing is overblown IMO. Partridge may have been a terrible on the field coach but his recruiting strategy paid off during that 2017 run and even last year with all the talent we had. Kiffin seems to be taking hold of that strategy now but we will be down this year and possibly next. 0 hope for this team going into this year. This spring has showed us that depth is a major issue. Which in 2017, it was not. I will still be cheering us on from the Acura Club nonetheless and look forward to seeing that view at the spring game again.
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Florida Atlantic University’s football team took to the field Thursday morning, under the brightest day of the spring season, for its final preparation for the 2019 Spring Game.

The Owls worked through their paces with the practice ending with team drills, two-minute and then special teams.

Both quarterbacks found success, with redshirt sophomore Nick Tronti finding redshirt junior running back James Charles, who took it into the end zone. Not long after that, junior Justin Agner connected with redshirt junior running back Chauncey Mason for a score.

In preparation for Saturday, the Owls have drafted two teams: a Red and a Grey (both subject to change).

You can VIEW THEM HERE.

New to this year's slate is an FAU Football Alumni Game. The “old timers” will play two four-minute halves at halftime. The second half will be at either a running clock or at coach's discretion. Below is the current list of participants, which is subject to change.

Dewain Akerblom ’06, Taheem Acevado ’06, Kris Bartels ’07, John DeShields ’06, Nexon Dorvilus ’13, William Dukes ’14, Lawrence Gordon ’05, Eric Harper ’04, Erik Hansen ’12, Brandon Jackson ’08, Jervonte Jackson ’08, Jaquez Johnson ’15, Tremaine Johnson ’02, Ray Leavitt ’03, Chris Lena ’08,  Michael Lockley ’10, Chris Newbold ’10, Tavious Polo ’10, Andy Rosas ’03, Cergile Sincere ’07, Kenneth Stephens ’15, Quinten Swain ’03, Jeff Van Camp ’10, Derrick Zak ‘04.

After Saturday concludes, the team will return to the Oxley Center practice fields Tuesday, April 16 at 9:30 AM for a session which is closed to the public.

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LawOwl said

faufan2017 said

The JUCO recruiting for the past two years is hurting us hard now. A lot of them didn't pan out and tons of wasted effort training students who didn't ever hit the field. I think depth is a huge problem for us.

We have a bunch of amazing athletes coming in our new class but who knows if they'll be ready to play day one. Fall camp should be exciting
Posted On: Apr 9th 2019, 6:20 PM #385864


This. The whole JUCO thing is overblown IMO. Partridge may have been a terrible on the field coach but his recruiting strategy paid off during that 2017 run and even last year with all the talent we had. Kiffin seems to be taking hold of that strategy now but we will be down this year and possibly next. 0 hope for this team going into this year. This spring has showed us that depth is a major issue. Which in 2017, it was not. I will still be cheering us on from the Acura Club nonetheless and look forward to seeing that view at the spring game again.
Posted On: Apr 11th 2019, 8:35 PM #385873

Depth I not a major issue in many positions. I think people are overreacting a bit.

Let me go by position groups.

The D is looking good and should be what we thought they would be last year.  

DT is 5-6 deep which is hard to be in C-USA.

LB we only play 2, but we have some really good talent there.

Look for Chase Lasaster to start seeing the field more as 3rd LB

Death, taxes, and FAU has a lot of good young DBs
Ahman Ross will be an FAU great and James Pierre is the best CB in this conference.

OL is a little lite on the inside with depth and we need to hope the young back up tackles develope.

RB is going to be strong but it needs some time. Everything I have heard Emmons looks great and they seem to already be protecting him a bit.  We recruited well at that position and RB is one of the easier positions to transition into from high school. One of those guys should emerge along with some production from Charles or Davidson.
 
TE Harrison and Raine have it locked down.

WR- Is a step above a disaster now and I only say that because the slot position has Willie and Jordan Merrel who is been improving.  Mitchell and "Pico" are ok, but I do not expect anything we have not seen from them.
This is another position we are getting a lot of talent at but a much harder transition to the next level.

QB- I do not know and will not to pretend to know. Who knows is CR is coming back and we will not know what we have in QB until after UCF. Lane did say the other day they are turning it over less and he tends to be very honest to the media.
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