| 8/7/2025 | Football BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic’s football team has accomplished most of the firsts it will go through during preseason camp: first day, first day in pads, first day in full pads, first day for tackling and first day off. Thus, the wall between all that has been accomplished and the first opportunity to lay it all out on the field on Saturday, Aug. 30 versus Maryland in College Parkis closing in. Redshirt junior linebacker Tyler Stolsky may have summed it up best in describing what the next three weeks will entail following Thursday’s practice when asked about the team’s improvement since the spring: “I think we have taken tremendous strides throughout the fall camp. The defense, as a whole, is getting more accustomed to everything and playing with different guys. We rotate a lot, whether it is on the backend or front end. No matter who you plug in there, it is the same…Going against (Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach) Kittley’s offense is not easy at all. I think it is great. It is super challenging. That is what you want. You don’t want a cake walk. It is very give and take. Sometimes we beat the offense, sometimes they beat us. I don’t think there is any better way than that. There are some things we need to sharpen up on and the same with them. I think it is amazing to go against an offense like ours that is so fast, so unpredictable, so challenging. We lose some, but you have to fail to win. The faster we can fail and grow from it the faster we will ultimately get to the destination that we want to get to.” QUOTABLE Defensive Coordinator Brett Dewhurst On what he has been looking for in practice “The biggest thing is to see who can tackle in space, who can strike and get off blocks, you can’t get enough of it. This was our second day going live, we’ll have the scrimmage here on Saturday and then we’ll come back next week and have a final scrimmage and that’ll be longer. We have a long way to go still.” On the linebacker room “Coach (Aaron) Schwanz, I have known him for a long time. We were together at Southeastern Louisiana. I have a good relationship with him. He was my first hire when I came here. He has coached inside ‘backers, outside ‘backers, special teams, he’s a great football coach. It’s not my defense, we came in here and built this together, the whole defense of what we liked from every place that we have been and started to put that together and find the identity of what we are. With Tyler (Stolsky) coming in, he came in that first [transfer] window when we first got here, right when Coach Scwhanz was getting here…We lucked out with him. He has played a lot of football. He’s smart, he played in the Big 10 with that walk-on mentality. He’s excited about the opportunity, it’s his time to step into that leadership role…he’s smart, tough, competitive, making all of the checks. He’s everything that you want.” Special Teams Coordinator Tyler Schovanec On the intensity of the special teams unit “If you come out to practice, you’ll see the intensity of everything we do is extremely high. Even if we’re doing a drill, it has to be at a very high intensity. The second thing is we incorporate situations, so we’ll work different situations…Whatever might happen in a game, we have to prepare for that. So, we try to match the intensity and prepare for any situation.” On dealing with weather challenges “For the guys that are playing on units, those guys are getting a sense of what it’s going to be like in a game. When it comes to fourth down or kickoff, they have to be ready to go while they’re tired. Those guys are getting to practice that right now…For our specialists, it’s great practice. We’re getting all sorts of stuff in. We had some wind in the afternoon, so they got to kick some balls with the wind. Every morning when you get out there, there is still some dew on the grass, the ball is a little bit wet, it’s kind of like a rainy game. So, they’re getting all of those kinds of things and I don’t want that to be an excuse and those guys know that..” Redshirt Junior Linebacker Tyler Stolsky On taking on the leadership role among linebackers “I enjoy it. It is a little bit unique and different. At my previous institution, I was a special teams captain, so I’m kind of used to being in that leadership role…one of the reasons I chose to come here was I wanted to be a leader. Coach (Zach) Kittley, Schwanz and Dewhurst said they needed a leader in the linebacker room. It was something I was looking forward to. I take a lot of pride in it in setting an example for these guys on and off the field, not only in football but how to be a better man and how to live your life because the people before me did the same thing and I wanted to fill those shoes and now I have the opportunity to do it. It’s not really about what you do here now, it’s about the people you can bring with you. I strive for that as a leader and to bring these guys along with me.” On the responsibilities of the signal caller “I do have to know everybody’s position, all 11…I do pride myself on knowing everyone’s exact jobs so I can tell them. When bullets are flying, it gets chaotic and I choose to thrive in the chaos. I also want to make sure all of these guys know that I have their back no matter what…I really enjoy it. I’m a big schematic guy. I really enjoy being able to see all of the puzzle pieces fit together. It’s almost like a chess game.” On the progress of the defense into the fall “I think guys have drastically improved. We have had a few new additions, even post spring, getting around all of the guys and watching them grow just out there having fun. It’s great to see the new guys picking it up. I think everyone has. It makes my job so much easier when all 10 guys around you are all better than you. It’s great to know that I have that behind me. All of these guys are amazing dudes. They know their assignments. I have full faith in every single one of them. We’re all taking strides daily, nobody is regressing. Especially in this fall camp, it has been solidified that our defense, especially as a whole, is trending in the right direction.” Redshirt Senior Punter Logan Lupo On sticking with his fitness routine “Off the field, I take care of myself like not many other people do. I have a very strict diet regimen, workout regimen, sleep schedule, everything…I don’t eat many carbs, but I eat rice, chicken, steak, protein shakes. That’s really it for the most part. A lot of it is discipline, it took me a while to get to that but it has changed and improved my game like no other.” On what he appreciates with this new coaching staff “They are inclusive. They include everybody, they want everybody to come and be on board whether you’re a young guy, new guy, old guy, they bring everybody along and I think that has changed this team tremendously.” PRACTICE NOTABLES Senior S Chris Keys Jr. flashed during the early portion of practice with multiple pass breakups Freshman DB Zion Paret added a pass breakup of his own to the mix Senior WR JR Wilson had a nice catch and run for a 40-yard gain Sophomore RB Kaden Shields-Dutton punched one in during red zone work Redshirt junior WR Joesph Young also collected a touchdown pass in red zone work CELEBRATING 25 YEARS Click HERE for 25 Years 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. |
