Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
FAU QB situation under evaluation.
BOCA RATON — Just because Florida Atlantic has a starting quarterback, that doesn’t mean the situation is fully resolved. FAU coach Lane Kiffin said Monday the Owls will evaluate the quarterback position this week before visiting No. 9 Wisconsin on Saturday.
“There will be an evaluation,” Kiffin said. “It started today already in practice today. We gave all three guys some reps today. We’ll continue to evaluate it.”
Kiffin did not explicitly name a starter.
Redshirt sophomore Daniel Parr started for the Owls in their seasonopener against Navy on Friday night, but FAU also used junior college transfer De’Andre Johnson in the second half as part of a specialized package. Redshirt junior Jason Driskel did not play against Navy.
Parr threw for 281 yards on 19 of 30 passing with two touchdowns and one interception. He was sacked twice and rushed for minus-14 yards. Parr received 46 snaps Friday night to Johnson’s 14.
“After watching it, he did do some good things,” Kiffin said Monday. “His numbers weren’t bad. Again, we’re not playing against the greatest defense in football. We would have liked for him to be a little more productive. … It was his first game starting. For a young kid, there’s been a lot worse openers.”
Johnson, meanwhile, was primarily a threat to run, gaining 31 yards on four carries. He also was 2 of 3 passing for 5 yards and an interception.
Johnson has been battling an undisclosed injury for at least three weeks that has, at times, limited him in practice if it didn’t hold him out all together. Kiffin said the former Florida State and East Mississippi Community College quarterback was not 100 percent against Navy.
Kiffin has largely dismissed the injury as a minor one due to the perils of preseason training camp, noting days of rest would help it heal. On his interception Friday night, Johnson underthrew the ball intended for receiver Bobby Mitchell.
Kiffin said Johnson’s injury has concerned the coaching staff enough to have additional evaluations done on him “to see if we can figure out what’s going on and how we can help it.”
“Had he been healthier, there would have been more of him playing and probably earlier,” Kiffin said. “His health was not 100 percent. I think you could see it when he went to throw the ball. That really could be an easy touchdown if he throws it out there. One-on-one post and he underthrows it for an interception.” After Friday’s game, Kiffin said Johnson’s absences in practice robbed him of timing with FAU’s receivers in the passing game. Running with him instead made more sense.
Johnson was a dualthreat weapon for EMCC last season, when he rushed for almost 900 yards in addition to throwing 26 touchdowns against just six interceptions. He originally signed with Florida State out of high school, but was kicked out after punching a girl in a Tallahassee bar.
“Like always, the backup quarterback, everybody wants to see the backup quarterback, especially when he comes in and runs around and stuff. But there’s more to it than just that,” Kiffin said. “Hopefully, he’ll continue to get healthy.”
Driskel was FAU’s starter for 11 games last season. Kiffin said Driskel would have played the final series of the 42-19 loss had the Owls defense got the ball back.