BOCA RATON, Fla. – Monday, a traditional day off for Florida Atlantic University’s football team, was a day of work with the team scheduled to face fellow Conference USA member Charlotte, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, in a game that will air on CBS Sports Network.
The Owls’ short week schedule came at a good time with the team taking advantage of last week’s bye to work in some of Charlotte’s install. As the defense turns the corner on the season, the defenders now understand the language of first-year defensive coordinator Mike Stoops‘ system, a system that has the Owls ranked No. 6 nationally and first among C-USA members in red zone defense, No. 11 in passing efficiency defense, and No. 14 in passing yards allowed.
COORDINATOR’S CORNER
Defensive Coordinator/Safeties Mike Stoops
On preparing for Charlotte:
“Having a little extra time, I think it’s been good. As we prepare for Charlotte, they do a lot of different things offensively. A lot of formations, a lot of movements. There’s a lot there. I think the extra time has benefited us, just in our preparation for the multiple looks that you get from them.”
On the challenge of Charlotte’s offense:
“In this era of football that we’re in, you’re always going to see a lot of shifts, trades, motions with a lot of their personnel. A lot of their two tight end stuff they give you multiple formations and adjustments and it’s just something you all have to be on the same page defensively. If one guy doesn’t see it the right way, they can get you out of gaps and create running lanes and those are things that can create big plays.”
On the bye week:
“I thought yesterday we were much fresher. More energy into the game week. We tried to show them a lot of different things last week in preparation. Now we’re fine-tuning all of it. We came out of four weeks of camp, six weeks of playing, your legs get a little tired. I think the bye and giving them a couple of days came at a good time.”
PLAYER’S PROSPECTIVE
Senior Linebacker Akileis Leroy:
On how close he feels to his 2019 form:
“I feel it. Yesterday was one of my best practices. It was a motivation for me. It was like a confidence booster. The plays are starting to slow down a lot more. I’m starting to see everything I need to do. Now I’m getting to the point where I can communicate more. Communication comes with confidence. The more confident I am with the plays in our scheme, the more I’ll be able to be a more vocal leader in the way I was in 2019.”
On his goals entering this season:
“I always see that there is room for improvement. I’ll probably never be satisfied with my game still. Even if I have a 10- or 11-tackle game, I still will want more for myself and more for the team because I want them to know that as much as I put in, I want them to know I work for it every day. It’s not just something that I get on Saturdays. It’s all in the preparation process. Just 1% better every day.”
On facing Charlotte:
“We’re 1-1 in the conference. Luckily, we lost to the west side of the conference [UAB]. This game will be big to start our streak and keep going. Just have confidence in each other. Not just on one side of the ball. Offense, defense, special teams. Everybody just needs to be there for each other and pick each other up even when we feel like it’s a downhill slope. Things can get worse from where we are now. We just have to pick each other up.”
On preparing for Charlotte’s offense:
“That goes with knowing what they do out of those formations. They do a lot of RPOs. Charlotte runs almost everything that you can think of when it comes to offensive formations. At the end of the day, we know exactly what they like to run, and we know what we have to do in our certain defenses. We just have to be consistent and be precise in every tackle, every coverage defense.”
On communicating with the rest of the team:
“It’s something that we say every week: you have to pack your run game. You have to pack your defense. If we can perfect those two elements, everything else will fall in line. It all comes with how physical we are and how determined we are to beat the man across from us and protect your brothers. We just have to stand on what our brand is and live by it and not just say it.”
UTEP T.V. SELECTION
The Owls will play host to UTEP on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. The two teams have played twice before (2015, 2016), with each winning the home contest. This year’s battle will air on ESPN+.
2021 SEASON
2021 single-game tickets are available now. To experience “Football in Paradise,” Click HERE or call 1-866-FAU-OWLS.
