Johnson, Robinson battle for lead
‘Exciting’ game lacked execution, Kiffin says.
BOCA RATON — As he saw fans leaving Saturday’s spring game early, Florida Atlantic coach Lane Kiffin had an idea: FAU had to find a way for the white team, led by quarterback De’Andre Johnson, to close the gap against the red team and QB Chris Robison.
Johnson came close, but the red team (first-team defense, second-team offense) held on for a 20-14 victory against the white team (first-team offense, second-team defense). Johnson threw a touchdown to Jovon Durante and nearly led a game-winning drive but was held back by an interception and a fumble.
Robison threw a touchdown to tight end John Raine and was picked off by Dishaun Moss.
“(It was) exciting to watch; it’s just not the execution that you want,” Kiffin said. “We kind of cheated a little bit; we wanted to keep the fans around. It was good, it was competitive, guys were really into it. Seemed a lot different than a year ago, but again, there’s just too many mistakes.”
Kiffin and the Owls will return to the field in late July, when the QB battle will have a winner and the offensive line should be able to finally find its footing. Here are five takeaways from the Owls’ second spring game under Kiffin:
QB battle is where we thought it’d be. Johnson and Robison, relatively speaking, are equal in the competition after Saturday. That’s despite both having chances to pull ahead but being held back by poor accuracy. Unofficial statistics provided by FAU show Robison completed 12 of 26 passes for 172 yards and Johnson 21 of
44 for 175 yards.
First-team offense relies heavily on Gerald Hearns. Running back Devin Single- tary was held out of Saturday’s scrimmage with a hamstring injury, meaning it was on Hearns to step up for the first-team offense. Despite the Owls’ various offensive weapons, most of the white team’s plays came on designed handoffs to Hearns, a Dwyer graduate. Faulting Hearns for several negative runs behind a rebuilding offensive line would be unfair, though the decision to avoid throwing so much to start the game was a surprising call from white coach Charlie Weis Jr. Unofficially, Hearns had 13 carries for 23 yards.
“I thought I had a really solid performance — a few minor mistakes here and there,” Hearns said. “But I thought I played hard. I thought I was able to come out and actually execute and have great communication with the offensive line when the quarterback wasn’t able to give a call.”
Ernest Bagner would start on most teams. The problem with FAU’s defen- sive line, for Ernest Bagner, is its depth. A senior this fall, he will enter fall camp on the second team unless some- thing catastrophic happens. Bagner sacked Robison and continued to be a presence in the backfield Saturday.
Dante Cousart also deserves consideration for a starting role. If Bagner was the breakout player on defense this spring, Cousart wins that title — or at least a share with Hearns — for the offense. Cousart unofficially had four catches for 41 yards in the win and finished the spring on the outside looking in for a starting job. Even with FAU adding junior-college wideouts Nero Nelson and DeSean Holmes this summer, Cousart’s impressive spring should put him in the running to have a chance at climbing the depth chart.
Too many i nj u ries. Defensive tackle Charles Cameron, tight end Logan Peterson and center Tarrick Thomas left with minor injuries, though Cameron and Thomas returned later. Linebacker Joe Pahovia was helped off the field midway through the fourth quarter.