BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University football team completed its first spring practice in shoulder pads, third with helmets, Friday morning. The practice was the third of 15 sessions that will finish with the 2022 Spring Game, slated for Saturday, April 9. Week one of practice will conclude tomorrow, but it will not be open to the public.
QUOTABLE
Before practice, Haggerty Family Head Football Coach Willie Taggart, as well as offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando were available for interviews.
Haggerty Family Head Football Coach Willie Taggart:
About what he’s seen from team during first week of spring practices:
The first day they came out with a lot of energy. I was excited about the team football practice. We’ve had some good tempo in practice throughout the entire practice, guys flying around, executing and having fun competing. The first two days are typically that way… We got what we expected, guys coming out with a lot of energy ready to compete and you could tell they were waiting for football for a while and were ready to get out there. Now today, we put on shoulder pads, so that is the next step.
What he’s seen from the two coordinators:
On Coach Dearmon: The thing that excited me the most, from a schematics standpoint, it’s not a lot different than what we have already been doing. He is very knowledgeable about what he is doing and I think the thing I’m most impressed about with Coach Dearmon is the way he teaches. He does a great job teaching, not only to the players but the coaches. It has been fun to watch however many months he has been here.
On Coach Orlando: I think Coach Orlando is a great teacher. You look at his experience and there is nothing out there he hasn’t seen. I have been impressed with how he is with our coaches and how our coaches have responded to him. When coaches are on the same page, you start to see players the same way. Defensively, I think our defense will really fit our personnel. I’m really excited about that and putting our guys in a good position to make plays.
On if he sees a sense of urgency from the players following last season:
I think we saw that after the last game we had. The attitudes our guys had, things our guys said after that game. [The] good thing about it is their actions are living up to what they said after that game, and that’s something I want to see. It’s good to see so many young guys did step up and say some things and [to] see them following through with the things they said that night is really impressive. Sometimes you say [things like that] in the heat of the moment and you don’t live up to it, but our guys are doing it…
Offensive Coordinator, Brent Dearmon
On the factors that intrigued him on coaching at FAU:
I got to experience this place the last game of the year last season in game 12. When I got here in late November and it’s 75 degrees and sunny with a beautiful sunset that afternoon, palm trees all over the place, I knew it was a beautiful spot. It is Paradise down here. The staff Coach Taggart has put together is one of the best staffs I’ve been around and I wanted to be down here in this area and raise my family in this area.
On finding consistency in the offense:
An early message we have been preaching to our guys [is consistency], and bringing it every single day. We have created an award, the hard hat winner, the player of the day, the guy that brings the most juice every day is the guy who has clocked in and brought his hard hat to work that day. We are just trying to create little things like that to get our guys to realize you can’t have days off. You can’t have Saturday’s off, you have to bring it to work every single day.
Defensive Coordinator, Todd Orlando
On the factors influenced him to come to FAU:
For athletics, that is probably the first thing, and then I just love how Coach Taggart goes about business. He is old school and believes in hard work and discipline, and that’s one of the big reasons is him.
How key communication is with coaching:
It’s huge. With myself, I have a lot of experience, but you have to find the people when you first get into the building that are going to be your go-to guys, such as Teja [Young] and [Ahman] Ross, and those guys, and talk to them first… Just to be crystal clear on what the message will be and it’s really the players that kind of run the show, so it’s just a piece of it, but communication is going to be huge for us because the offenses are pretty complex these days, so you are going to have to overcommunicate and make sure you are lined up to execute.
PRO OWLS STOPPING BY
A handful of former Owls currently in the NFL stopped by their old stomping grounds on Friday, including:
- Brandin Bryant
- Trevon Coley
- Leighton McCarthy
- Kerrith Whyte, Jr.
WHAT’S NEXT?
FAU is set to open the 2022 fall season at Ohio in Athens on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022.
FOR SEASON TICKETS
To purchase FAU tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or click HERE. Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com, or through football’s Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUFootball.
