FAU’S KIFFIN NOT OPPOSED TO ADDING ANOTHER QB
Kiffin has said he’s ‘not opposed’ to adding another QB.
BOCA RATON — As training camp approaches for Lane Kiffin and the Florida Atlantic Owls, more reinforcements could be on the way at quarterback.
The second-year Owls coach said this month at the “Lane Kiffin Football Camp,” FAU isn’t opposed to adding another quarterback before training camp starts next month. While the Owls do have roster restrictions and can likely only bring two players in, Kiffin has emphasized he wants another quarterback to join the battle between redshirt junior De’Andre Johnson and redshirt freshman Chris Robison.
“We’re always looking for good players wherever they’re at,” Kiffin said. “Junior colleges, grad transfers, guys who maybe (academically) qualified late. There won’t be as much movement as last year because we don’t have enough room, number-wise, to do that.”
Incoming freshman quarterback Cordel Littlejohn (Lincolnton, N.C.) is set to arrive on campus in the coming weeks. Johnson missed most of last season with blood clots in his arm after transferring from East Mississippi, while Robison sat out the season in compliance with NCAA transfer rules. Robison joined the Owls after being dismissed from Oklahoma for violating team rules.
Which quarterbacks would make the most sense for Kiffin if he decided to pursue one through the graduate transfer market? Here are four that FAU should consider trying to land in the coming weeks.
Dallas Davis, South Alabama: The Jaguars’ starting quarterback in 2016, Davis left the program in April after four seasons in Mobile. Davis completed 56.6 percent of his passes for 4,169 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions over 25 games, though his most memorable play came on the ground when the then-sophomore jumped over a Mississippi State defender in a 2016 win.
Davis, 22, has only one year of eligibility remaining and was involved in his own quarterback competition at South Alabama this spring. He’d certainly bring experience to a quarterback unit which only has a handful of Division I snaps.
Jacob Park, Iowa State: The “Last Strike U” mantra given to FAU last summer would certainly apply to Park, who left the Cyclones program in October to take a mental health break. A former Georgia recruit who transferred after the 2014 season, Park completed 60.2 percent of his passes for 2,972 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions across 14 games the past two seasons, though nine of those scores came in four games last season.
When he announced his decision to transfer last winter, Park, 22, told The Des Moines Register that he was facing a one-game suspension after testing positive for marijuana, which he used to handle overwhelming stress.
“It was not something that was very easy to deal with when you have so much high-pressure situations that you’re being put into as I do,” Park said. “And it’s a coping mechanism that I understand now is not acceptable.”
J.J. Cosentino, Florida State: FAU already has one former Florida State quarterback on the roster in Johnson — and a second, Clint Trickett, as tight ends coach. Cosentino, 22, has mainly served as a scoutteam quarterback, only completing 15 of 30 passes for 104 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions over eight games in three seasons.
Tucker Israel, Clemson: Israel, 21, was in contention to start for the Tigers last season before a stomach ailment cost him his redshirt sophomore campaign. Though Israel only has four pass completions and as many attempts to his name, his experience at one of the sports’ top programs may intrigue Kiffin, who coached Alabama’s offense against Clemson’s defense in the 2016 national championship game.