South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Spencer holds ‘D’ to a higher standard
BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic and coach Lane Kiffin knew the way the defense played last season wasn’t going to cut it.
Under new defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer, FAU feels defensive players are being held to a greater level of accountability this spring, and they expect it to translate into the fall.
“I just know he’s done a great job with the coaches and the players,” said Kiffin, entering his third season leading the Owls. “He’s very old-school, tough on them, but loves them up too. He’s doing a good job.”
Senior cornerback Chris Tooley notes that difference in players being held accountable.
“I feel like he’s depending on us like he’s holding us to a higher standard,” said Tooley, who had an interception during Saturday’s drills, of Spencer. “He’s real strict.”
Senior linebacker Hosea Barnwell V, who was recently put on scholarship after being a walk-on, feels the body language from defenders is improving and players are flying to the ball.
Under Tony Pecoraro as defensive coordinator, FAU’s defense struggled throughout the 2018 season. Out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, the Owls ranked
94th in scoring defense (31.8 points allowed per game), 88th in total defense
(424.4 yards allowed per game), 90th in opponents’ third-down conversion percentage (41.2 percent) at the time their 5-7 season was over. They didn’t do much in terms of getting sacks or forcing turnovers either.
Last year at Charlotte, Spencer revitalized the 49ers defense, especially in the run game where they gave up just 88.5 rushing yards per game, ranking them 11th in the country.
Kiffin said after Saturday’s practice that while at this point in the spring the defense is usually far ahead of the offense, it hasn’t quite been the case thus far with the offense able to get into a rhythm even with quarterback Chris Robison suspended. FAU coach Lane Kiffin, above, has been impressed with the job new defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer has been doing.
“We have a long ways to go because there’s no background of having reps in [this defense],” said Kiffin. “It’s very different than what we’ve done before. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Kiffin got a chance to bond with his new defensive coordinator, who was hired from Conference USA rival Charlotte this offseason and previously had a long tenure at Oklahoma State, this week as the two went out to Georgia for a coaches clinic.
“Veteran coach that knows a lot of people, so he’ll help a lot in recruiting, knows how to handle situations with players,” Kiffin said. “Spent 10 years at Oklahoma State doing some really good things.”
Spencer spent five of those seasons as defensive coordinator of the Cowboys, also spending time as defensive line coach and linebackers coach.
Bryant out wide
At Saturday’s practice, which was open for media viewing, tight end Harrison Bryant was seen lining up out wide and effectively using his 6-foot-5 frame to shield off smaller corners to make catches.
“Any time you have a guy with catching range like that – and a lot of them are big receivers – tight end is a mismatch issue, and you see that at the next level with guys too,” Kiffin said.
Bryant is reliving some high school football memories in the role.
“I used to do it a lot in high school and then it went away, so I’m still kind of raw out there,” he said. “It feels good to get out there, get a good matchup and try to make a play.
“When you get out there, you just got to use good body presence. All four quarterbacks are making good throws, and if they make a good throw, just use your body and make a play.”
Two-tight-end sets figure once again to be used in abundance in the Owls’ offense with Bryant and John Raine getting in together.
Tronti running
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Nick Tronti, who transferred last year from Indiana, connected with several pass catchers – Bryant, Raine, St. Thomas Aquinas grad Jordan Merrell and Jefftey Joseph among them – at Saturday’s practice, but also made big plays with his legs.
At one point, he ran off a 75-yard touchdown through a wide-open entire left side of the field after getting through the line of scrimmage.
“He runs really strong,” Kiffin said. “He may not be the fastest in the world, but he runs strong. I think he’d run through some of those arm tackles, too, if it was live.”
Said Tronti: “I think that’s the perfect word for it. I’m not extremely fast, but I’m an effective runner, so I can find a way to make people miss or put my shoulder down and get extra yardage.”