Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
FAU secondary among top in interceptions
BOCA RATON — There is no “turnover chain” hidden on the sideline, waiting for one of them to place around their neck.
No, the Florida Atlantic defensive backfield has a much less flashy way of celebrating each interception. It doesn’t take place on the field during games. They wait until the following film session.
That’s when they can embrace their slogan of “Put it on tape.” In short, it means just make it happen and then enjoy the satisfaction of watching the replay among teammates.
“Don’t talk about it, be about it so everybody can see it,” senior cornerback Raekwon Williams said. “That’s the motto. Our game will do the talking.”
Their celebration method may be different from the Miami Hurricanes, who have gained national attention by having each player wear a gold chain on the team bench after recording a turnover, but the results are similar. The Owls’ secondary already has 10 interceptions, which ranks second nationally among Division I-A teams. They trail only South Florida’s 14 picks.
“We always tell each other, ‘Give me one. Give me an interception. Give me a pick or produce,’ ” junior Chris Tooley said. “We all put each other on a pedestal to always be great.”
Tooley leads the team with three interceptions, and Shelton Lewis and Jalen Young each have two. Williams, Leighton McCarthy and Ocie Rose all have one. The unit has played a role in the Owls’ 3-3 start, the best since 2007.
First-year coach Lane Kiffin has been so impressed with the secondary he believes they could play in any conference. That is saying a lot, considering Kiffin has spent much of his collegiate coaching career in the SEC and Pac-12.
“It makes us feel great,” Williams said. “But at the same time, you’ve got to have that extra voice in your head like, ‘Let’s keep doing it. Let’s keep competing.’ When you get complacent, that’s when you fall off.”
Getting comfortable is nearly impossible among this group because they are so competitive. It has only gotten more intense as the interceptions pile.
“We’re very competitive.” Williams said. “We give up one pass, and we’re like, ‘Tighten up. Let’s ride. Let’s do it. No more catches for the rest of the game.’ ”
The secondary has produced despite having only five cornerbacks on scholarship. The emergence of freshman Zyon Gilbert has helped offset the lack of depth. Gilbert, who arrived during fall camp, played well enough to unseat Rose as the starting safety. Two years ago, Rose was on the Conference USA All-Freshman team.
A big reason for the success is they are playing in a similar defensive system as they did under former coach Charlie Partridge. Defensive coordinator Chris Kiffin and secondary coach Keynodo Hudson have only tweaked a few components.
It also helped the Owls’ secondary put in the work during the offseason.
“I feel like the biggest reason we’ve been effective is because we actually took time and dug into everything we needed to do during the summer,” Tooley said. “We came in. We worked out. We watched film. We practiced on our craft. We really put in working during the summer time to be able to produce.”