Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Weis has 1 goal: Reignite offense
When Charlie Weis Jr. stepped into the offensive coordinator role for FAU before last season, he was inheriting a team that was seemingly brimming with offensive talent.
The Owls were coming off a season in which they had won 11 games largely on the back of the offense, averaging 40.6 points per game and scoring more than 30 points 12 different times.
But Weis’ first year on the job saw a commanding offense slip into inconsistency and frustration. In 2018, the team’s average score dropped by almost 10 points per game, and a season that had carried expectations of a conference championship and maybe even a New Year’s Six bid ended with a losing record.
Heading into his second year, Weis, 26, feels he is ready to lead the offense back in the right direction.
“The biggest thing is just trusting yourself and not second-guessing yourself,” he said. “As a first-time coordinator, it’s the first time you’re doing everything and so if something doesn’t work, maybe you secondguess yourself.”
But returning the offense to its 2017 level of play is no easy task. There are plenty of new faces across each position group, and explosive running back Devin “Motor” Singletary is now in the NFL.
Typically, losing a running back who accounted for more than 1,300 yards and 22 touchdowns in a single season would mean that the unit is primed to take a step back. But the team feels the running backs are one of the most talented groups top to bottom as of now. Junior B.J. Emmons was one of the stars of the team’s scrimmage on Saturday, breaking out for a big touchdown run late in the game.
“For the past couple years we’ve had that guy in the backfield, and it’s good to see that people are stepping up to fill a big role,” quarterback Chris Robison said on Saturday. “B.J. did really well today, had some really good runs. The last play of the game he scored a touchdown, so it’s real important to know that we can trust somebody in the backfield.”
But Weis, who feels more confident in the running backs right now than maybe any other position, thinks that the depth goes beyond just Emmons.
“James [Charles] and BJ have certainly done a lot of good things but [freshman Larry McCammon] and [freshman] Kelvin Dean have been extremely impressive so far into camp and you can tell those guys are very naturally talented runners,” he said. “…As they keep learning the details of the offense and everything that they have to do, I think you’ll see those guys making a lot of plays.”
Having a strong running back room is a good start to getting the offense back on track, but with just a few weeks before the season opener against Ohio State, it’s one of the only offensive position groups that isn’t in flux. There are still battles on the offensive line, Weis has yet to determine the depth chart for the wide receivers and, most notably, a quarterback battle is still underway.
But despite the many question marks, Weis has still noted a lot of positives in his offense. All of the quarterbacks have looked comfortable throwing to the team’s veteran tight ends and senior wide receiver John Mitchell has stepped into a larger role and done well.
With the wide receiver depth expected to be nailed down within the week and a group of quarterbacks that are all considered to be starting-caliber, Weis is confident that the team can excel offensively in 2019.
“We’re still in that process of figuring things out but obviously we expect success no matter what quarterback is in,” he said.