Star offensive linemen helped build FAU success
BOCA RATON — Offensive linemen don’t always get the attention they deserve, but the big men who have come through Florida Atlantic University all have earned recognition throughout the years.
Whether it was an all-conference lineman like Reggie Bain or a walk-on pressed into action, the tackles tasked with keeping the quarterbacks on their feet have thrived in the trenches and paved the way for high-octane offenses.
The 2018 season will be FAU’s 15th in Division I (officially the Football Bowl Subdivision, or FBS). Who are the best players to wear an Owls uniform in that time?
Much like the annual All-American teams, The Post’s All-Owls 15 list features three “teams” of FAU players from the past 15 years. So who are the best offensive tackles to play for FAU? First team:
John Rizzo (2005-08): Rizzo is not even the most famous member of his family — that distinction goes to younger brother Anthony, a three-time All-Star first baseman with the Chicago Cubs — but he made a name for himself after joining the Owls as a walk-on in 2005. Although Rizzo also saw time at guard, most of his success came on the outside as a priority blocker for Rusty Smith. A graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Rizzo was named second-team All-Sun Belt in 2007 and 2008, accolades overshadowed by the Owls winning a bowl game each season.
Reggie Bain (2014-): After making the All-Conference USA freshman team in 2014 and the all-conference second team as a sophomore, Bain’s playing future was in question after an August 2016 scooter accident. Although Bain missed all of that season, the Miami Central High graduate dominated opposing defensive linemen last season and was one of seven Owls named to the All-CUSA first team. FAU has yet to have an offensive lineman taken in the NFL draft, but Bain could break that trend with another dominant season. Second team:
Nello Faulk (2003-06): Faulk laid the framework for the other tackles to make this list, starting in the FCS playoffs as a freshman in 2003 and remaining a force in the trenches for years. Originally seeing time at center, Faulk became a full-time guard in 2004 and never let up, earning an All-Sun Belt selection in 2006. Faulk earned a tryout with the Jacksonville Jaguars after graduating.
Samuel McRoy (2007-11): McRoy began his career on bowl teams and finished his time with the Owls starting for some of the worst teams in program history. But without McRoy protecting the likes of Jeff Van Camp and Graham Wilbert, the final teams in the Howard Schnellenberger era might have been much worse. McRoy’s blocking also set up running back Alfred Morris to become a sixth-round pick of the Washington Redskins in 2012 and, to this point, the most successful Owl at the NFL level.
Third team:
Carl Spitale (2007-10): A former star lineman at Royal Palm Beach High, Spitale spent time at Temple and Ohio before joining the Owls in 2007. While he never earned the attention that Faulk or Rizzo did, he was a key member of the 2008 Motor City Bowl team and held his own against Nebraska All-American defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh in a 2009 loss. Suh — who finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting that year and was the No. 2 overall pick by St. Louis in the 2010 NFL draft — had seven tackles and a pass deflection, but Spitale didn’t allow the future All-Pro to sack Rusty Smith.
Lavoris Williams (200509): Another of the late 2000s offensive linemen, Williams helped pave the way for a then-program record 1,392 rushing yards by Morris in 2009. Braden Lyons’ short time at tackle — he was a starter in 2013 and split 2014 between the outside and center — puts Williams ahead, though current Owl Brandon Walton is on pace to supplement the Fort Lauderdale-Dillard grad.