BOCA RATON, Fla. – In the traditional workplace, Wednesday is considered “Hump Day.” It’s the hardest day to stay focused. The day that once completed there are just two more workdays prior to the weekend. Once you make it through “Hump Day” the mindset swings back towards the positive making it easier to meet your goals and accomplish workday tasks before the weekend hits.
For the Florida Atlantic University’s football team, Wednesday, Aug. 10th appeared to be the 2022 preseason camp “Hump Day.” Coincidently, it fell on a Wednesday, but it was officially the 13th day of the scheduled 22 preseason practices. Coaches could be heard encouraging the players. “On the hop” was heard more frequently as well as an overall encouragement to power through the day. The tempo and competitiveness were strong. It was more of the downtime and transitions where the rigors of camp seemed to weigh. The day was bound to come, but it is a testament to this team that it came later into camp. It was also a sign of their mental toughness that it took this long to have the day where the coaches’ encouragement was needed.
Wednesday’s practice was a day for those who wanted IT the most to prove themselves.
QUOTABLE
Defensive Coordinator Todd Orlando
On how the past weekend went and preparing for game one
“It was good. A lot of situational football which is always what you do in camp. Some goal line, some short yardage. Guys played really hard and that was the thing that, as a staff, you kind of measure first the effort and then the tackling. I’m really happy about being in the stadium and going out there under the lights and trying to get accustomed to what we’re going to go through game one…We’re a week ahead of everyone, so the people like Charlotte and other teams that are playing in that week zero game, this is where you find out what your ball club is about. There’s going to be adversity in game one and how we deal with it, so the head coach and the staff are going to put them in adverse situations and see how we respond to it, and that way we can teach it and show them how to get it done when it happens in a game.”
On how the team is coming together
“You’re seeing a team that’s starting to gel together. Especially when you get into fall camp, it’s so hyper competitive that it’s almost like offense versus defense, but I don’t see that here. We’re competing when they snap the football, but we’re still able to be able to hang out with each other. It’s a really healthy vibe. A lot of the teams that I’ve been associated with that made it to championship games and have done some really good things, that’s the one thing that you have to have as a team. It gives you a chance to win, because if it’s not a closed fist, it’s really hard when bad things happen. I like where we’re at as a program, from support staff all the way through. I think there’s a genuine care for people.”
On defensive linemen Evan Anderson and Keem Green
“You have to have people inside your defense that have the ability to be stout and not get knocked around. They are two guys with tremendous size and when they’re stout, they’re hard to move out. That helps the guys that are behind them because if you don’t have a lot of size, what ends up happening is you get knocked out and gaps become bigger than what they need to be. So, if you’re a guy like Eddie [Williams] or a guy like Jaleel [McCrae], it’s much easier to play in a really small space than it is a bigger gap.”
On which position groups are standing out
“Everybody’s been doing a really good job…And now it’s just the work in progress, especially some of the guys that are coming (new) to the program. We’re all out there trying to get better at our craft…The one thing I’m really happy with is they’re being prideful about running to the football. As we tell them, when the ball gets out in space, it’s whether you’re willing to run for somebody. It’s like anybody in your family, if you see them in trouble, the first thing you’re going to do is run as hard as you can to make sure they’re okay. That’s the one thing they’re doing a really good job of.”
On the safeties
“The schematics come in terms of what you’re playing. As a coordinator for a long time, there are certain things that people do that dictate whether you’re going to be in a single high or split safety look. We have both of them in our package and we work them every day, but it’s really predicated on who and what you’re trying to stop. A guy like Teja [Young], I’ve been around some really good ones, but mentally, he’s a coach. He’s an extension of us. When we say things in coach lingo, he understands it. He’s such a valuable part of us.”
On Decarius Hawthorne
“Hawk is really twitchy and has great vision. There’s going to be some things we’re going to have to do with him. He can be stout, he’s put some weight on, Joey (Guarascio) has done a really good job with him. I think on the move, he’s really explosive. I just think some guys, when you play up front, they’re just kind of worried about playing in their gap, but he’s a guy that literally can find the football, get off the football and go. Then when he’s on the move, that’s when he’s really lethal. He gives us the ability to create explosive plays like TFLs and sacks.”
On defensive depth
“We’re trying to roll as many guys as we can. Normally when you get in camp, you’re really top heavy on the ones and twos, but we’re trying to get the third and fourth group to try to develop depth. We need to know that these guys can either help us or not help us and the only way to do that is to rep them…You can’t say somebody can’t do it if they never have an opportunity to do it, so we’re trying to create depth. This will all shake itself out next week when we throttle down and know exactly who we have, but we’re giving everybody an opportunity.”
Junior ILB Eddie Williams
On standing out in camp
“I’ve been waiting since my freshman year. Hard work pays off. Now is my time, I have to step up.”
On what he sees from the defense
“Everybody’s together. We stand united a lot. I feel like the brotherhood is really coming along this year.”
On Todd Orlando and his scheme
“He taught me a lot this year…He’s really aggressive. He uses all of his players.”
On the new linebackers
“They came in to work. We like work. We have Mojo (Morven Joseph). He’s standing out. He has had a good fall and a good spring.”
On the team’s competitiveness
“We compete every day. That’s one of the big points.”
Sophomore RB Marvin Scott III
On how camp is going so far
“Camp’s been pretty good so far. The running backs are running hard and finishing plays. You’ve got a roster full of running backs. We have a whole bunch of stuff we can offer to the backfield.”
On what he brings to the team
“I want to bring to the team power, speed and balance.”
On competing to be the RB workhorse
“It just gives everybody a push to want to be better. We have something to look forward to every day to become that workhorse, to become what Coach Taggart wants out of the team.”
On N’Kosi Perry’s leadership
“N’Kosi is motivating the players at practice and telling us what to do, the plays to run, and making everybody come together as an offense so we can be successful.”
TRIP OF A LIFETIME
Adam Boselli, a graduate tight end for the Owls, joined former FAU offensive lineman Andrew Boselli and the rest of their family for a trip of a lifetime and the opportunity to honor their father, Tony Boselli. The senior Boselli was officially enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend after a seven- year NFL career as an offensive tackle. Boselli was voted to five-straight Pro Bowls (1997-2001), was named First-Team All-Pro three-consecutive seasons (1997-99) and was selected to the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 1990s, despite only playing half of the decade.
CONGRATULATIONS
Big shoutout to redshirt junior receiver Je’Quan Burton, who was named No. 21 among the Bruce Feldman CFB Freaks List. Burton, who stand stands at 5-10 and weighs 187 pounds, made the list after bench pressing 345 pounds and doing power cleans at the same weight. His vertical leap was 45 inches this past off-season and his broad jump was 11 foot five inches. Burton joined the Owls last fall adding 27 receptions for a total of 483 yards and three touchdowns.
ON THE FIELD
- Seven-on-seven saw quarter back N’Kosi Perry open with a 45-yard pass to newcomer Carter Boatwright for a score
- A short time later, junior “Smoke” Romain Mungin, who stands at 5-9, showed off his leaping ability to breakup a pass thrown high to the outstretched arms of six-foot-three BJ Alexander (more on this matchup later)
- Team situations found Perry connecting with receiver LaJohntay Wester on multiple occasions, each a chain-moving pass
- Daemon Hill had the first interception and return of the morning
- Wide receiver Tony Johnson had a scoring reception and quarterback Michael Johnson, Jr. kept the ball for a rushing touchdown
- (Back to the earlier man-to-man matchup) Alexander saw Mungin get the best of him in seven-on-seven, but the redshirt junior receiver did not allow it to happen twice. A leaping Alexander collected the Perry pass against tight coverage by Mungin, for the score and the “Play of the Day”
- Shortly after, the defense responded by not allowing the running back to turn the corner for a gang TFL
- Willie Taggart, Jr. had back-to-back scoring plays, first hitting Javion Posey and then finding “Ace” A’ceon Cobb
- Scott had a strong day of work with a one-yard scoring run and several downhill runs
- Jarrett Jerrels recorded a TFL
- Jahmal Edrine had a pass reception from Perry that had the offense cheering and Perry later scored on a quarterback keeper
SEASON OPENER
FAU will open the 2022 season on Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, versus Charlotte at FAU Stadium. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on CBSSN and will air locally on Sports640 AM South Florida.
TICKETS
To purchase FAU tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or click HERE or HERE. Individual tickets are now on sale as well. Call the FAU ticket office, today, to secure your tickets. Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com, or through football’s Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUFootball.
