BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University football team held a walk-through Friday practice leading up to Saturday’s final scrimmage, but the big news came out of the football office came Thursday night.
Congratulations #1 – Redshirt senior tight end Austin Evans and redshirt freshman wide receiver Tony Johnson were the latest two to be chosen to sing the fight song, as happens at the conclusion of each team meeting. Only this time, as the fight song lyrics scrolled on a screen behind them, the song ended with “Evans and Johnson have been awarded a scholarships.”
Congratulations #2 – The 2022 captains, as voted upon by the team, are quarterback N’Kosi Perry and safety Teja Young. Joining them for the season opener and representing the special teams unit is long snapper Nick Marino. Following game one, the special teams captain will rotate based on the previous game played.
Congratulations #3 – Players are awarded single digit number based on their performances both on and off the field. Single digits are reserved for what Hagerty Head Football Coach Willie Taggart refers to as “The Dudes.” The numbers are most definitely fought over and earned. These numbers were awarded on Thursday night (* denote players who came into preseason in a single-digit number): #0 Jaylen Joyner, #1 Lajohntay Wester, #2 “Smoke” Romain Mungin, #3 Larry McCammon *, #3 Eddie Williams *, #4 Teja Young *, #5 Johnny Ford *, #7 N’Kosi Perry*, #7 Latrell Jean, #8 Evan Anderson *, #8 Je’Quan Burton
QUOTABLE
Prior to Thursday’s Practice
Redshirt Junior DE Jaylen Joyner
On transitioning from last year to this year
“I come to work every day for my guys. Coach is preaching a band of brothers’ bond. I feel like everybody’s coming together. My mindset of coming to practice every day is that I’m the vet now, so everybody looks up to me. I try to basically just give them my knowledge of the game because that’s the same thing seniors did for me when I first came.”
On the new look defense
“Coach [Todd] Orlando’s defense is great. If you have a weakness, Coach Orlando’s defense will help you adjust to it. Coach Orlando’s defense is very simple, very hands on.”
On where he’s most comfortable playing “I’m versatile. I can play anything. I’ll go anywhere on the line. Wherever Coach needs me on the line, I’ll play whatever. I feel Coach is utilizing my skillset a lot.”
On the need for pass rush to improve
“You’re going to see a big difference this year. Coach Orlando’s system is not just a one-person system. All four of us have to be on one accord and once we all get on one accord, everything will be alright.”
On how new additions will help the pass rush
“Guys like Keem [Green], Xavier Peters are going to come in and rush to the quarterback. Big Keem is going to stop the run and then you have some fun on third down.”
On importance of depth
“Coach is preaching that we have depth now. You’re not going to see a lot of guys playing a lot of plays. Coach is going to try to keep us fresh, keep us rotating, because we’re deep. Once one guy comes out, tempo shouldn’t go down, it should keep coming up”
Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Willie Taggart
On the health and conclusion of the 2022 preseason
“The health of the team is pretty much where you usually are this time of training camp. You have some bumps and bruises. We’re using these next couple of days to get these guys back and ready to go for game week, and then the scrimmage just honing in on some of the little things that we need to correct, but also give guys an opportunity to get on the bus and make the travel team. We have a good idea on who our two-deep will be and we need to figure out who are those other guys that are going to come along and help us win.”
Redshirt Senior TE Austin Evans
On earning a full ride scholarship and being celebrated by teammates
“Going into it, I had absolutely no idea. I thought I was just going over there to sing the fight song. It’s definitely a huge burden off of my shoulders. I’ve been really stressed, so this helps me be able to relieve a lot of that stress and just focus on football, the team and it’s just going to help a lot in that aspect.”
Redshirt Freshman WR Tony Johnson
On earning a full ride scholarship and being celebrated by teammates (Johnson came to FAU on an academic scholarship
“I didn’t have any idea. I was completely caught off guard. It was an amazing feeling though, me also singing the fight song and then boom, it just happened. We were all in tears and very thankful.”
On how the full ride scholarship takes weight off his shoulders
“I just had a burden of trying to be in two places at one time with football and academics. I had to be at events for academics and I then had to be here for camp. It was just something I had to try to balance with the best of my ability. Football’s my number one now, and I have a football scholarship, so I can just hone in on football and keep my grades up without having to go to extra events, so it’ll be easier to maneuver.”
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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.
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