FAU coach makes debut against Monmouth
BOCA RATON – The buzz around Florida Atlantic University sports still lingers due in large part to the men’s basketball team reaching the Final Four earlier this year. Whether that momentum can leak to the football team remains to be seen.
On Saturday, a new era starts for FAU football, which is not only playing its first season in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) but its first season under head coach Tom Herman. The Owls host Monmouth in a nonconference game.
Herman took a hiatus from coaching college football after being fired by the University of Texas in 2020. The year after, he was an offensive analyst for the Chicago Bears, but he wasn’t retained. He then joined CBS Sports in 2022 to be a college football analyst, the first season he wasn’t a part of a coaching staff since 1998.
Herman, who has replaced the fired Willie Taggart, was a proven winner at Houston and Texas, the former in the AAC where he coached the Cougars to a conference title.
Herman told The Palm Beach Post that his time away from college football felt short.
“It feels like yesterday that I was out there. It’s been just like riding a bike,” Herman said. “On game day, I won’t feel any different than I did in 2020. Which now that I’m saying that out loud, it’s probably a good thing. I mean, it doesn’t feel much different at all.”
Players, such as star running back Larry McCammon, already are starting to notice a difference in culture compared with the past several years.
“He’s [Herman] really just brought this competitive edge in for everybody, like it’s more organized, more structured,” McCammon said. “Everybody’s bought into one common goal. We all play for each other.”
In addition to bringing in a revamped coaching staff, Herman made a splash in the transfer portal as he reunited with former Longhorn and Cornhusker Casey Thompson to lead the team at quarterback.
Having missed the spring, it comes as a benefit that the two have a familiarity with one another and that Thompson was able to come in and pick up the offense quickly.
Herman, offensive coordinator Charlie Frye, and especially Thompson himself describe him as a “football junkie.”
“People always ask me what I do in my free time; I watch film and watch football. If I go home and turn on the TV, I like to watch football when I get a chance. It’s really good that the coaches, players and staff recognize the work that I put in and that I’m up here pretty much all day,” Thompson said. “I just try to be available for any of the players if they need anything from me, just trying to do my due diligence and study the opponent. I am a firm believer in taking accountability. Right beneath the head coach and offensive coordinator, the quarterback of the team has a huge responsibility.”
Thompson is quite possibly the final missing piece to the puzzle as fans can expect this offense to be explosive. The running back room is stacked with McCammon, Kobe Lewis and Zuberi Mobley, each of whom has the potential to rush for 1,000 yards.
FAU also returns LaJohntay Wester and Je’Quan Burton, the top two receivers the past few seasons. Other players who could break out on offense are BJ Alexander, Tony Johnson, Jymetre Hester and newcomer Devin Price, a transfer from Texas A&M.
Mixing all of that with an experienced offensive line and this could be one of the top offenses in the conference.
Frye said that in terms of preparation, the goal to be 1-0 every week is the mindset he wants to instill.
“I think we have established the standard that we set offensively and who we want to be: that is both a tough and mentally smart football team,” Frye said. “I think we have established that we must protect the ball, create explosive plays, dominate situational football, and protect the quarterback. I think our guys are dialed in on what it is going to take to be who we want to be.”
Defense strong up front, not so much at linebacker, secondary
The defensive side of the ball, led by coordinator Roc Bellantoni, has its strengths and weaknesses.
The jury is still out on who in the linebacker and secondary groups will come up as a star among cornerback Romain Mungin, safety Armani-Eli Adams and outside linebacker Jaylen Wester.
An exciting group will be the defensive linemen, led by game-wrecking defensive tackle Evan Anderson. With Jacob Merrifield, Latrell Jean and others complementing Anderson, this is a deep position for FAU.
Saturday’s opponent has a lethal running game led by junior Jaden Shirden, who has 2,216 career rushing yards and ranks seventh in program history. He has 10 rushing touchdowns of at least 50 yards.
“I think the strength of our defense right now is our defensive line. It’s not like [Anderson’s] gonna go out there and throw three guys out of the way and make every tackle. He’s got to do his job to the best of his ability,” Bellantoni said. “And the rest of them up front, be in their gaps, be where they’re supposed to be, fit things in our defense the way they’re supposed to, and then give the guys behind them the chance to be right.”