Transfers have no regrets
BOCA RATON — Since Lane Kiffin took over as coach at Florida Atlantic, the Owls have been able to score a number of transfers from major college football programs to revamp the roster.
But even as the losses are mounting for FAU (3-5, 1-3 Conference USA) in a season that began filled with expectations, starting offensive linemen Junior Diaz and Antonio Riles said they have no regrets.
The Owls, who travel to Miami on Saturday to take on FIU in the Shula Bowl at 7:30 p.m., have lost four of their last five games.
“The wins and losses haven’t gone as we expected, but everything else has been great,” said Diaz, a center and Miami native who came in as a graduate transfer from Tulane. “The coaches are great. The players are great. It’s been fun. Being back home, it’s been everything I could have asked for. I’m happy I did it.”
Riles, a graduate transfer from Florida, has taken a liking to the camaraderie he’s witnessed.
“I enjoy every moment with the offensive line. I love all those guys. I have lots of fun with them,” he said. “We can laugh together and we can talk business together. … There’s no falloff. We don’t treat freshmen like freshmen. Everybody’s family. They’re our brothers. That’s what we do.”
Messages Riles has heard from the coaching staff have resonated with him, especially something tight ends coach Clint Trickett said.
“One thing I heard from Coach Trickett: ‘Don’t be the guy, be their guy.’ That kind of made a lot of sense to me,” Riles said. “Just taking everything from them and let them take everything from you. We just learn along the way and enjoy the process with each other.”
While Diaz and Riles have been able to jump in right away for an offensive line that lost three starters from last season, that’s far from where the transfer productivity ends.
Redshirt junior Jovon Durante leads Owls receivers with 47 receptions for 638 yards, while adding two touchdowns. The former West Virginia Mountaineer and Miramar grad had to sit out last year due to NCAA transfer rules.
Four quarterbacks on the FAU roster have come from other colleges – Chris Robison (Oklahoma), Rafe Peavey (SMU and Arkansas), De’Andre Johnson (East Mississippi CC and FSU) and Nick Tronti (Indiana). Reserve defensive tackles Marcel Southall (Texas) and Noah Jefferson (USC) played at Power-5 conference schools before stints in junior college at Tyler and Arizona Western, respectively, led them to Boca Raton.
Robison update
Robison is progressing nicely after he missed a start for the first time this season on Friday night against Louisiana Tech due to an ankle injury suffered the week before at Marshall.
“I’m [hoping] that by Saturday everything is 100 percent,” Robison said. “On [Friday], I was all right. If they needed to put me in, like they did at the end, I was fine to do that. I couldn’t really run around, things like that, but every single day it’s getting better and better.
“It did kind of frustrate me to the point of ‘I’m not playing.’ I want to play, things like that.” Miami's Will Mallory grabs a touchdown pass in