Defense Prepares for Hot ODU

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University football has completed its busiest two workdays [Tuesday and Wednesday] and is nearly ready to face Old Dominion, a team that is riding a two-game winning streak, this Saturday in Norfolk, Virginia. The two teams are scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. this Saturday in a game that will air on ESPN+. The Owls (5-4 overall, 3-2 in Conference USA) have a 4-2 record all-time versus the Monarchs (3-6 overall, 2-3 C-USA) and captured both games previously played in Norfolk, but at the team’s old stadium.

Defensively, the Owls will face a pair of backs that both broke the 100-yard barrier last week versus FIU and a tight end that presents defensive matchup problems. But the Owls are ready for the challenge behind the leadership of fifth-year senior Zyon Gilbert, who has played a program all-time high 57 games, graduate student Jordan Helm, who leads the team with 62 tackles, and sophomore Romain Mungin [Smoke], who has grabbed an interception in each of the last two games and two of his three 2021 starts.
COORDINATOR’S CORNER

Defensive coordinator/safeties coach Michael Johnson
On defending Old Dominion’s tight end, Zack Kuntz:
“They have a couple of them that they want to emphasize. They make a conscious effort to get the ball to the tight end. There’s certain ways they try to get him the football. He’s a very effective player. He’s a big target. He runs well. You don’t see a tight end usually stretch the field like he can. They use him as a wide receiver and they do a good job with that and try to put him in positive positions, matchup issues. You definitely have to be conscious of him.”

On stopping the run:
“I think for most teams, the run sets up the pass. Teams that run the ball effectively keep you off balance and [Old Dominion] did a good job of that a week ago and took advantage of some situations against FIU. They’ll run the ball in passing situations, probably more than any team we’ve seen thus far. We’ve got to make sure our defense can react and put ourselves in positive situations, show them something and do something different. We just have to be smart and understand the situation, where you’re at, in the game. For us, we can’t just keep overreacting to the run and letting them throw the ball. We were hurt last week against a very good running back. He had three runs in the fourth quarter for about 50 yards, but other than that, we stopped the run, but then your pass coverage becomes a bit of a liability too. We have to do a better job putting pressure, rushing the quarterback, and covering as well.”

On allowing yards after catch:
“The big play that kind of broke our back was the wheel route out of a different formation we hadn’t seen. They slipped our guy and got up the sideline. That’s a play most teams run. We need to defend it better than we did. We were kind of fighting our way through and in a good position and we let that one get out the gate for a 65-yarder. That hurt us at that particular time because we were fighting to get right back in the game and that was disappointing. Other than that, the back had some catches. When you watch them, they did a good job getting the ball to the back a couple of different ways. The quarterback threw the ball on time and did a good job reacting to our coverages. We need to continue to try to put pressure on the quarterback and not open voids in our defense, but maybe try to be more aggressive.”

On sophomore cornerback Romain “Smoke” Mungin:
“I’ve really enjoyed his play. You can see he’s seeing the game in the right way. He’s not forcing anything. He’s doing what we ask him to do and playing his position, I think extremely well. I thought Zyon [Gilbert] and Jordan Helm (have) played really well in the secondary. Those are guys we have to lean on heavily. If we can continue to do that, we’ll have some success.”

On the key to FAU’s red zone defense:
“Being versatile is important, knowing when to get in certain coverages, knowing what they like to do when they get in certain spots on the field and take away what they want to do. I think that’s the key and getting the players to understand it and being good on 1st-and-10 when you get in the red zone forces you in a more positive position with the field shrunk. Those are all positive things that happen for you if you can play well on 1st-and-10.”

On going deep into the depth chart:
“We’ve played a decent amount of players. I think that always keeps the backups engaged. If you can get them in and play them a decent amount, then you’re building depth in your defense and you’re keeping those players involved in what you’re doing. I think that’s always critical to your success and it’s good for those players to know that they need to be prepared and ready to play at the same level. I think our ones and twos have done a really good job of that all year.”
PLAYER’S PERSPECTIVE

Sophomore cornerback Romain “Smoke” Mungin
On what to defend against Old Dominion’s offense:
“Mostly trick plays, how they want to get their receivers open, but also how they help their quarterback.”

On improving defending yards after catch:
“If we give better coverage, it gives time for the line to get a pressure to the quarterback. If the quarterback’s getting pressured, he won’t be able to throw the ball.”

On returning to the starting lineup:
“My position coach [Stanford Samuels] always says ‘it starts at practice.’ What I give in practice, I give to the game. If I show that I’m not really good in practice, they’re not going to trust me. I had to step up how I was in practice.”

On approaching the last three games of the season:
“We just have to control what we can control and win out. Whatever happens then, happens.”

On defending against Old Dominion’s tight end, Zack Kuntz:
“He’s one of the key players, so if we shut him down, we’ll be good, but they try to get him open as much as possible. They’ll put him out wide. They’ll try to get him the ball the most.”

On defense’s success in the red zone:
“It’s just our mentality as a defense. We don’t want to give points up. We always look for a zero on the board. When they get in the red zone, we get that defensive mentality of not letting them score.”
IN THE COMMUNITY

FAU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) isled by President Federico Maranges, an offensive lineman on the Owls’ football team. This year, the football team held an internal contest pitting the offense versus the defense. While the offense won, handily, the true winner is the food pantry that will receive more than 1,600 canned goods from the football team alone and over 3,000 by all participants.

2021 SAAC Food Drive