BOCA RATON, Fla. – On Friday, the Florida Atlantic University Owls moved out of gridiron drills earlier than most days and began playbook work, in preparation for Saturday’s first spring scrimmage.
TAGGART’S TAKE
On if he is looking forward to Saturday’s first scrimmage
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Willie Taggart, FAU’s head coach. “I think that we have had a really good spring practice so far, leading up to tomorrow’s scrimmage. The guys have picked up on what we have asked them to do and are doing a good job of executing it on both sides of the ball. It will be fun letting them get out on the field and the coaches not being out there and seeing what they know and what they don’t know, without hearing the coaches, and really playing together. That is going to be fun. We have a controlled scrimmage so it will be more situational. We will put them a lot of different situations to see how our guys react.”
How far are you along would you say everyone is, on both sides of the ball in terms of understanding the concepts?
“I think the better way to say it is that we are right on pace of where we need to be in learning and understanding. I can see each and every day our guys are getting better at the things that we are doing. You aren’t seeing as many of the same mistakes as we did earlier, which is a sign of improvement. After seven practices, I think we are right on schedule.”
HIGHLIGHTS
- First celebrations came on a Teja Young pass breakup
- Jahmal Edrine had a catch and run, using his feet for a score
- Je’Quan Burton did what he does nearly every day, weave through defenders for a score
- Johnny Ford continues to be that allusive player that Taggart is looking for, “a 5-2-80 player” which is one that can “run a five-yard route, make two tacklers miss and then out run everyone for 80 yards.” Ford did it again on Friday, although not on a pass play. The redshirt sophomore running back slid through his would-be tacklers and was gone
- The deep ball pass reception of the day went to LaJohntay Wester, who went up in traffic and came down with the ball
- The defense provided pressure and batted down a pass attempt with the offense at their own 20
- Near the end of the practice the offense drove the length of the field only to be denied the end zone by the defense
SPEED ZONE
Something new to the Owls’ practice is announcing players to break 20 mph. Players wear a vest, that among other things, measures their speeds throughout the day. The moment a player hits the speed of 20 mph, a horn sounds and the strength coaches drop and do a regiment of pushups. On Friday, two players got on the board early with Edrine being the first and moments later, he was followed by Dwight Toombs.
WHAT’S NEXT
FAU will scrimmage on Saturday, closed to the public. To follow the team socially, visit @faufootball or for the most up-to-date information go to www.fausports.com.
