Starting QB Robison no longer with team
FAU’s quarterback contingent took a major hit before the start of its 2020 fall football camp.
Starting quarterback Chris Robison was left off the Owls’ 2020 roster, which was released Tuesday afternoon ahead of the start of camp on Wednesday. A university spokesperson confirmed he’s no longer with the team.
Robison had been the team’s starting quarterback for the past two seasons, recording 6,234 passing yards and 40 touchdowns in 26 games played with the Owls.
He started all 14 games for FAU last year, completing 61.3% of his passes for a program-record 3,701 yards in addition to 28 touchdowns and six interceptions en route to receiving first-team AllConference USA, C-USA championship game MVP and 2019 Boca Raton Bowl MVP honors for the 2019 season.
Robison was expected to be one of the top quarterbacks among the Group of Five conferences heading into the 2020 season. He was named to the 2020 Maxwell Award and Manning Award watch lists in late-July, but his status for the year remains uncertain with ESPN reporting that his name didn’t appear in the NCAA’s transfer portal as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Mesquite, Texas native’s departure ends a turbulent three years with the program. Robison transferred to FAU from Oklahoma in August 2017 after being dismissed from the program for violating team rules a few months after being arrested on a public intoxication charge.
He missed all of spring camp with the Owls in 2019 after being suspended due to a sexual battery allegation made by an FAU student. Criminal charges weren’t filed and then-FAU coach Lane Kiffin reinstated Robison from his suspension in June 2019.
Now, new FAU coach Willie Taggart will head into fall camp looking for a new starting quarterback.
Redshirt junior Nick Tronti is expected to be the front-runner for the starting role. Tronti, a former Indiana quarterback, was Robison’s backup last season. He completed 17 passes on 22 attempts for 180 yards, two touchdowns and one interception last season with the Owls. Tronti excelled as a dual-threat quarterback, rushing for 239 yards and two touchdowns on 51 attempts.
Redshirt junior Justin Agner, redshirt freshman Javion Posey and true freshman Willie Taggart Jr. are the three other quarterbacks listed on FAU’s 2020 fall camp roster.