| 4/9/2024 | Football BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic’s football team will host its 2024 Spring Game this Saturday with a scheduled noon kick in FAU Stadium.  The game, which is free and open to the public, will be the first opportunity for fans to welcome the newest members of the Owls and to witness the returners’ growth firsthand. Gate 1 will open at 11 a.m., for westside seating. Parking in Lot 5 (north side of the stadium) is free. AROUND THE GAME New to this year’s game are EXPERIENCES. Fans have the opportunity to be a guest defensive or offensive coach during the spring game or win a regular season gameday access. For a complete list of opportunities visit @NILInParadise. Click HERE to view all NILinParadise Football Experiences or contact the Paradise Club staff with questions.The Owls are hosting a canned food drive in partnership with Eat Better Live Better. Fans are encouraged to bring canned foods to the Spring Game and in return, a free ticket will be issued for the Charlotte at Florida Atlantic football game scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 23rd. Those wishing to help can also donate to Eat Better Live Better. Please do so HERE. Show your FAU spirit by picking up a free yard sign or flag at the marketing table, which will be located next to the Howard Schnellenberger statue (also at Gate 1). TUESDAY PRACTICE As the Owls move closer to the completion of the 2024 spring practices, more attention was given to full team drills. FAU continued a rotation of ones, twos and threes working the same situations.A few highlights included an interception and return by Courtney Lamas-Lanier and the day’s practice ended with an Antonio Smith INT.Offensively, quarterback Tyriq Starks led the offense on a scoring drive that ended with a touchdown reception by Jayshon Platt. Starks later found Dominique Henry during red zone work.COMPLETE ROSTER QUOTABLE Hagerty Family Head Coach Tom Herman On if the team is where he wants them to be “I think we are certainly on track. There is probably not a coach in America who doesn’t wish that they were farther along than they are. I have to watch myself to recognize the positive strides that we have made and understand that this practice 12. We are not supposed to line up and play a game tomorrow. When you put it in that context and reflect on where we were at this point last year, where some other teams that I have been a part of have been and then where this team should be with 34 newcomers in January and a new quarterback in the room, I feel like we are on track but I hope we still continue to make a lot of strides between now and Saturday.”On finding team leaders “In today’s portal eras, some guys that enter your program really don’t have a chance to show their leadership until the offseason. Case in point: [graduate linebacker] Jackson Ambush; Maybe the most looked at leader on our football team, but he wasn’t a captain last year. He was a really good player, but he got here in June and was feeling his way around. To have that many newcomers also be here in January really allows a lot of those newcomers to forge themselves into a leadership role if that is who they are. We have seen that with some newcomers and we have seen some guys grow from last year. It is hard to lead when you are not an integral player, but I look at a guy like [junior wide receiver] Jayshon Platt. Nobody would have considered him a leader last year, and I would argue that is because he did not play a lot. This year, he is playing a lot more and you see those leadership qualities come out in him. Even the guys that were here last year, you are seeing a different version of them because of the makeup of this team right now.” Freshman Wide Receiver Milan Tucker On his expectations this spring “I have not reached my expectations yet because I expect a lot out of myself, but I am definitely making steps towards those expectations. I see where the future is projected to go and I am looking forward to what it is going to be.”On what he wants to accomplish before the end of spring “Just close the gap on where I want to be and where I am at right now. I am just looking forward to homing in on the little details of what they are expecting me to be on the field and what I am looking for myself to do on the field and show who I really am on the field. I have shown it in spurts, but [I want to] put a whole gameplan together and really show that on Saturday.”On competing for the punt return job “Punt return is something new because I have been a kick returner. It is definitely new but it is not foreign. It feels comfortable back there, things you need to work on and little details that you need to home in on to excel at the position. But returning to me is just returning, you get the ball to somebody that is going to make the play and it is going to happen.” Graduate Wide Receiver B.J. Alexander On team chemistry “Chemistry is picking up pretty good. It started back with winter workouts and running routes with the quarterbacks and doing stuff individually, and now it has translated to the field. The chemistry is getting good, we are progressing way better than what we looked like two or three weeks ago, so it is looking good for now.”On the importance of this upcoming season after battling injuries “It is something I look forward to. I pride myself on going through adversity, going through the hard stuff. It will be a crazy story to tell when it is all over with, but in this last season I look forward to making big plays, making big things happen for myself and this team.” Graduate Defensive Back Wendel Philord On how spring ball has gone “The beginning of spring was kind of slow because I was learning the plays and stuff like that, so I couldn’t really play fast. But from the last week and couple of days, I have been going pretty fast and doing pretty well because I know the plays, I know the keys, I know what to look at, I know my job and I can just be the playmaker that they brought me here to be. I came from an NAIA level, everybody thinks DI is a big difference, but it is not much except for the d-line and o-line. I am just glad to be here and show that anybody can play at any level.”On chemistry with the secondary “Even though we have played with each other for a short amount of time, I think we are going to be ready for anybody coming to try to take the top off.” GRIDIRON CLASSIC GOLF Join NILinParadise at the Gridiron Classic Golf Tournament, sponsored by GA Telesis. All proceeds directly support FAU student-athletes. Join the Owls for a day of golf, prizes and comraderie scheduled for Thursday, Apr. 25, 2024, at the Boca West Country Club. To register your foursome, click HERE. PRACTICE VIDEO 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. |
