The third day of fall camp is in the books for the Florida Atlantic football team as they finished the session at the Schmidt Family Complex on a bright Saturday afternoon. This marked the conclusion of the first week for the squad, with plenty of pros and cons to learn from.

"As a team, it's good to be polishing and not learning. I mean, we're still learning as we go but it's more like we can move a lot faster, the coaches can teach a lot faster, and we don't have to slow down as much as we did in the spring," running back Kobe Lewis said.

Cornerback Romain Mungin said that camp has gone great for him as he noted how the game has slowed down for him as one of the more experienced players on the team.

"It has slowed down for me as in reading my keys, seeing the whole field, seeing where the dividers are, their splits to see what routes they run; it's way slower than when I got here…So I'm teaching it to the young guys and they're getting way better because when I was a freshman, it wasn't like how it is now," Mungin said.

Here are some notes from today's media availability.


OwlBytes for August 5th

• Punching Balls The defense practiced in-game situations throughout their drills, especially the cornerbacks. CBs coach Brandon Harris had his players simulate a defensive play where the cornerbacks would need to prevent wide receivers on the opposing team from completing their catches. He showed them how to maintain their composure when running down the field to keep up with their assignment and punch the ball out of the receiver's hands to keep the opponent at bay. "On that drill, we have to be patient and we can't panic because that's what most corners do; when they're deep, they panic," Romain Mungin said. "That teaches us to be patient, wait until his hands go up, and when his hands go up, punch through. Don't go weak, don't go soft; punch through."

• Standing Their Ground Defensive line coach Roosevelt Maggitt Jr. emphasized to the players the importance of maintaining their balance when holding off the opponent's offensive line. The drill they performed simulated a snap where the linemen would need to prevent the opposing offense from making a successful play. The d-line (pictured above) would try to pretend the sled was an o-lineman and try to rip through it. They also worked on pivoting, which allows them to have the proper footwork needed to get past an o-line by just one simple right foot pivot, for instance. Also, maintaining their balance helps them to not fall over, and place their feet so they can get to the quarterback quicker. This would be imperative for the Owls to have impeccable execution with heading into the season.

• Star Watch: DL Evan Anderson - Anderson (pictured below) has shown resilience throughout the sessions so far, learning from his errors to perfect the drills he took part in with the defensive line. He looks to have a standout year after a 2022 campaign left him sidelined for a significant portion of the season due to injury. In the seven games he played in, he finished with 27 tackles (10 solo) including 4.5 tackles for a loss of 12 yards and a sack for a loss of six yards. He also earned preseason All-AAC First-Team honors from Athlon Magazine and Third-Team honors from Phil Steele.

• Final Word Positioning was the name of the day for the Owls, particularly from the defense. Roosevelt Maggitt and Brandon Harris made sure to demonstrate to the players the correct methods of breaking down the o-line or preventing completed catches, and held them accountable if they were unable to get it right. The discipline they are integrating into these positions could be a good sign of things to come for the Owls' defense this season.

Coach's Corner

Running back Kobe Lewis and cornerback Romain Mungin headline today's Coach's Corner.



The team will take a day off on Sunday before making their way back to the field Monday morning to begin the second week of fall camp.

JJ Metz contributed to this article