| 3/11/2025 | Football BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic football took to the practice fields for the first time this spring under the direction of first-year Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley in preparation for the upcoming season, the program’s 25th year of competition. The Owls used the first of 15 practices, or “opportunities” as Kittley expressed, to lock down the logistics of practice as well as the opportunity to get better as a team. QUOTABLE Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley On how the first day of practice went “I’m really proud of the logistical part. We are a brand new staff. A lot of us have not worked together before. We are trying to combine ideas and certain ways to structure practice. The biggest part is it is brand new for 110 young men. (I’m) really proud of those guys for being able to follow the line of what we are doing. We hit on it in the team meeting this morning. I’m proud of the staff too, when it comes to that. They are leading the charge when it comes to their position units. I’m proud of the overall organization that we had. There are things we can tweak as a coaching staff. Other than that, I thought the flow of practice went really well.” Have you seen guys step up either new or old? “It is a mixture of both (leadership from new and old). The world we live in, a third of your roster is going to be new every year almost. Between Caden Veltkamp, CJ Doggette, Jay (Jayden) Will (Williams), I could go on about a lot of those guys. Really great leadership. One of the big things that I’m proud of is that the locker room is healthy right now. Those guys are close. I’m an offensive guy by trade, but you can’t win football games by just being good on offense. You have to play offense and defense. I preached that to my staff yesterday in our meeting. I preached that to our team this morning. We are not going to be a team divided. We are not going to have offense versus defense type mentality. We are going to have a team mentality. Those leadership guys have taken that mentality and helped me voice that as well. That has been really good.” Senior Defensive Back Wendol Philord On the changes for him “I’m not in the [run] fit, I’m more out of the fit. I’m playing more of a corner/safety role instead of an in the fit linebacker/safety role and we have a whole bunch of moving pieces.” Redshirt Sophomore Derrick Rogers On his decision to come to Florida Atlantic and what has surprised him “I was looking for a team that worked hard and a coaching staff that worked hard. I wanted to be surrounded by people that really work and don’t make excuses…what has surprised me is how fast the team connected and got together, even though it was new coaches, new players and everything was really new. That really surprised me in a big way, but in a positive way.” Redshirt Freshman Tight End Kam Bell On his progress over the last year “I was blessed with the opportunity to come here from a JUCO a year ago…I have gained about 20 pounds and I have been able to play at a higher level. From December to now, the new staff has been pushing me hard to gain weight and do the things I need to do and get in extra work. From December to now has just been positive.” Redshirt Junior Quarterback Caden Veltkamp On today’s practice “I think it was your typical first day. We had a lot of stuff that we can look back and learn from. I also think there were a lot of positives and a lot of things we can grow from, stuff that we can put together to win football games.” VIDEO RECAPPRACTICE NOTES Lawerence Johnson became the first Owl to create excitement with an early interception returned for a touchdown during the first “team” period. Tito Nunez also recorded an interception early on into practice. Caleb Coombs recorded a touchdown for the offense with a catch and run, showing off his speed after the catch. Derrick Rodgers showed off his prowess in his first practice with the Owls, recording multiple pass breakups on the day. PHOTO GALLERY Gallery: (3-11-2025) First Spring Practice 2025 NIL IN PARADISE REGISTRATION To register click HERE. COMPLETE SCHEDULE Click HERE. SEASON TICKETS To purchase season tickets, click HERE. FOLLOW THE TEAM Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com or through football’s Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUFootball. |
