No QB yet, but Owls appear on track
Two weeks into camp, FAU seems poised to repeat as champs.
BOCA RATON — After two weeks of Florida Atlantic University’s fall training camp, coach Lane Kiffin’s Owls have shown they’re ready to repeat as Conference USA champions.
Although the Owls are still looking for a starting quarterback among redshirt junior De’Andre Johnson, redshirt freshman Chris Robison and graduate student Rafe Peavey, the rest of camp has gone as expected. Devin Singletary is still an electric running back even without the defense tackling him, the defense has been fierce, and Kiffin has happily tweeted about Alabama’s quarterback battle as he looks to solve his own.
But even as some things stay the same, some are bound to change. FAU will hold a closed scrimmage today before a lighter day Sunday for the annual Media Day and Fan Fest. Will a quarterback emerge? Can the Owls escape without injuries?
Look for those questions to be answered when Kiffin addresses the media Sunday, but for now, here are five takeaways from fall camp:
1. No QB has lost the starting competition: When the Owls added Peavey just days into training camp, Kiffin stressed it had nothing to do with the performance of the other two quarterbacks. Johnson and Robison both have made cases for the starting job, with Robison having his best string of practices this week.
Johnson is still the favorite based on experience in the system and overall consistency. Kiffin hasn’t hinted at a two-quar-
terback system and likely wants a full-fledged starter. Today’s scrimmage will be an important test for all three.
2. The Owls look like a mature program: Players quickly bought into Kiffin’s belief that 2018 is an entirely new season and, just as FAU moved on from years of losing to go 11-3 in 2017, the team enters this year with a clean slate.
Players are unaffected by the high expectations from outside the program. Strength and conditioning coach Wilson Love, known for his barks and howls, has cut down on the noise. Maturity and leadership are to be expected when 15 of the 21 projected starters (excluding the quarterbacks) will be 21 or older on opening day — Sept. 1 at Oklahoma.
3. Good luck against the defense: FAU is known for a prolific offense that averaged more than 40 points a game last year and returns most of the production. But a defense that lost only one starter, defensive tackle Jeremiah Taleni, remains stingy and aggressive. Junior Kevin McCrary (25 tackles, 2.5 for loss last year) is Taleni’s likely replacement.
The second team features several players who could start on other elite Group of Five programs, including defensive ends Ernest Bagner and Tim Bonner. Defensive tackle Ray Ellis is finally healthy after suffering two torn ACLs in 13 months and defensive end/linebacker Kain Daub, a former Florida State enrollee, is showing why he was once a fourstar recruit.
4. Spring stars show they belong: Who says there’s nothing to take away from spring practice? McCrary isn’t the only new starter who has held the job he earned in spring camp — redshirt freshman B.J. Etienne is projected to start at left guard. Walk-on running back Gerald Hearns (Dwyer) should split backup carries with Kerrith Whyte (Seminole Ridge). Another former Palm Beach County star, wide receiver Dante Cousart (Dwyer), is consistently among the unit’s top performers.
Bagner and Bonner have continued to make strides after dominating throughout the spring. Senior Andrew Soroh, who impressed after converting from safety to linebacker, levies hard hits every day.
5. The offensive line has settled in: Three starters on the line — tackle Reggie Bain, center Antonyo Woods and guard Roman Fernandez — made last year’s AllCUSA first-team. Bain and right tackle Brandon Walton return, but the Owls will have three new starters in the trenches. Etienne is a potential pick for the AllCUSA freshman team.
Center Junior Diaz (Tulane) and guard Antonio Riles (Florida) joined the team this summer as graduate students and have quickly settled in as starters, paving the way for a talented running back unit that gained more than 4,000 yards last year.
“Them boys working,” Singletary said. “They’re definitely coming together more, they’re communicating better . ... We’re definitely working in the right direction.”