| 8/6/2025 | Football BOCA RATON, Fla. – Sometimes coaches create chaos and bumps in the schedule or on the playing field to see how the players respond. Adjustments can often separate the winners from the losers. On Tuesday, Florida Atlantic first-year Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley had the opportunity to watch his staff and team respond through several firsts, all of which happened organically.It was the Owls’ first scheduled night practice of the fall. It was also the first practice in which players donned full pads, first without individual drills, first with two-minute drills, and it was the first practice that needed adjustments based on weather conditions.FAU responded positively by all accounts as the position battles waged on. It was a practice that will be thoroughly reviewed by coaches who are working to identify what the Owls’ offensive and defensive identity will be. QUOTABLE Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley On how the first padded practice went “A big day of firsts: first night practice, a couple of lightning delays, first time we put a two-minute drill in today, we had a big-time red zone period today. A bunch of moving parts and then of course just trying to adapt to the weather and changing practice and cutting a period here and going straight to that instead. I thought our guys really handled it well. We had a lot of energy and it was cloudy out there so it wasn’t so hot. I think that gave them a little bit more juice but also just getting out some of the fluff, some of the individual periods, and just rolling the ball out and playing football. I think our guys were excited to do that. I thought they responded really well and it was a really good practice with all things considered navigating the ups and downs of the weather.” On the progress the team has made in the fall “We’re heading in the right direction. We have improved dramatically on special teams, especially when you look from the spring where we were to where we’re at now. We’re going to put a huge emphasis on special teams around here. Coach (Tyler) Schovanec is one of the best that I have ever been around so he’s doing a really good job of getting us into the right stuff, just the effort and execution that we’re having on special teams has been huge. Offensively, we’re still in some installs. We’re pumping in a bunch of different scenarios on everybody. We’re still trying to find exactly our identify and exactly who are going to be our best four to five skill players out there…Just still moving guys around trying to find out what’s our best bet there. Defensively, I think we’re doing a really good job of flying around. I’m excited about those six new defensive back transfers that we had come in. I think that’s changing our defense in the positive. We still have to find some ways to get after the quarterback a little bit. Overall, I’m really pleased with where we’re at and heading forward, we have six more practices until we get into mock game week. Just really trying to sit down as a staff and find out what we need to keep harping on and if there’s certain scenarios, we need to cover more of…Other than that, we’re probably going to roll the ball out and play some football these next six practices and then get ready for Maryland from there.” On the leadership from redshirt senior DT Bryce Langston and redshirt junior QB Caden Veltkamp “I’ll start with Bryce Langston. He’s kind of a quiet guy until you really get to know him, you can peel him back a little bit. He’s a big-time leader by example…He’s the guy that has been around the block, has been here. I know he had other opportunities to go to some bigger schools but decided to stay here. In today’s day and age, that takes the right human being with the right character and I think he understood this is the best opportunity for him. He’s a guy that has NFL traits to him. He realizes it doesn’t matter where you’re at, if you’re a good football player they’re going to find you and you can play at the next level. For him, he felt like this was a good spot for him to land and stay and be developed here. He does everything right. He’s one of the first people in the building and the last one to leave. He has that quiet confidence about him and quiet leadership, not super vocal but when he does talk, it goes a long way, so I have been extremely proud of him and what he has brought to the program since I’ve been here. And then Caden, just being able to have a veteran quarterback presence on the team I think is huge. A guy that has played a lot of football, was the offensive conference player of the year last year in his league and a guy that just gets it. He’s a coach’s kid, which I think is invaluable because he understands what the game’s about and he understands what winning does and what losing can do for you. And then clearly with familiarity with the offense that he already had has been huge. Those are two leaders in our program, I’m letting our team vote for team captains this upcoming Sunday and I’d be shocked if those two aren’t two of them.” Redshirt Junior QB Caden Veltkamp On the energy for the first day of pads “Definitely going out there today, it was a little cloudy, we skipped all of the ball security [drills] and just put the ball down and played today. A lot of guys were fresh, nobody was tired, there was definitely some juice going through the building today.” On watching film to help his game “I grade my tape a little differently than Coach Kitt [Zach Kittley] does, but my grades have not been very different than what his have been for me. I’m definitely watching the tape all of the time and looking at it…I’m definitely hard on myself watching tape post practice.” On his biggest improvement from spring to the fall “We watched our first spring scrimmage in the QB room the other day. I was just watching my feet…my feet have gotten so much better and it has helped me be on time and be on better rhythm and going through my reads, having better progression. My feet have improved tremendously and I can still get better in that area.” Redshirt Junior DT Bryce Langston On his confidence and hard work as he grows as a leader “I definitely still feel that confidence. It just took a lot of hard work. I had to do things that I didn’t want to do at times and just push myself because I know I want to take that step to the next level and I want to make my family proud. I do it for them, I get up and push myself. I’ll look at a picture of me and my family and it just reminds me why I’m doing it. I motivate myself and continue to go every day.” On his goals of playing professionally “I have to give it my all because I know what I want to do for myself. I have always had a dream of playing in the NFL so I just push myself very hard to accomplish that goal because it’s a goal I can accomplish for myself.” On if he has reached his full potential “Not quite yet. I worked very hard in the winter, spring, and summer, and I feel like it’s just time to showcase what I can really go out and do because I feel like I have a talent and I just haven’t been looked at the right way so I feel like this season is going to open a lot of eyes for people.” On choosing to stay at Florida Atlantic “Coach Kittley, Coach B-Lee [Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Brandon Lee], Coach (Devin) Santana. Coach Santana recruited me when I was first in the portal when he was at UT-Martin and we always had a bond. Coach Kittley is a great guy, a guy you can talk to on and off the field about different life situations, same with Coach B-Lee. I have been in his office plenty of times just talking about life, what’s best for me, how I go about things. This is really home with this staff and I decided I’m going to stay and win a championship with these guys.” COACH DJ MCCARTHY MIC’D UPPRACTICE NOTABLES Redshirt freshman TE Martavious Collins was credited with a red zone score Redshirt sophomore DL Eric Brantley Jr. hauled in an interception that was deflected by a fellow defensive lineman Freshman DB Damon Allen recorded a pass breakup during fourth and goal and followed it up with an interception during 7-on-7Redshirt senior DB Damarius McGhee also recorded an interception during 7-on-7 work CELEBRATING 25 YEARS PRESENTED BY SHINER LAW GROUP Click HERE for 25 Year Celebration Content COMPLETE 2025 SCHEDULE Click HERE. SEASON TICKETS To purchase season tickets, click HERE. GROUPS OF ALL AGES To purchase group tickets, click HERE. FOLLOW THE TEAM Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com or through football’s Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUFootball. |
