BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University hosted its 2021 Spring Game Saturday afternoon with the White Team, coached by spring head coach and traditional tight ends coach Jon Bills, earning the 23-18 win over the Red Team, coached by spring head coach and traditional running backs coach Chris Perkins.
The morning began with the news of legendary head coach and FAU’s inaugural head coach Howard Schnellenberger’s passing. It ended with current head coach Willie Taggart‘s opening the postgame press conference with comments about Schnellenberger, which the FAU Stadium’s field is named in honor of.
Taggart’s TakeOn the Passing of Howard Schnellenberger
“Coach is a legend. Coach affected so many different people over his career. You think about the coaches he has affected, mentored and helped, and the fans of this game. In this business. You think about the players that he has coached over the years, the players at Miami, at Louisville [and] here at FAU, the programs that he has turned around. He has done some extraordinary things as a football coach and the has touched a lot of lives. As a football coach, it is one of the things you want to be able to accomplish over the years. You want to win. He won ball games. You want to mentor and bring coaches along and then you want to help the young people. He did a great job at all of those things. He is going to be missed. He will never be forgotten, and we are going to see to it that we make his vision a reality here at FAU.”
What did you see out of the defense?
“I thought the White defense played big time, but I expected them to. They did a good job drafting their defensive players. I was excited to see the Red team step up in the second half and make some plays. I thought overall, [on] the defense, our guys did a great job of picking up on things Coach [Mike] Stoops is asking them to do. It is a whole new defense now. If you asked Coach Stoops he would tell you that he is so excited and glad to be here with this group of young men, especially in the secondary, because those guys do a great job of learning football and talking ball. They enjoy it and it helps them. I thought our guys did a great job of picking up on our defense, the terminology and executing it. From day one of spring to where we are now is night and day. We should be good again on defense and we want to be better.”
On the Offense and Explosive Plays
“This is big for us. It is going to be big for us. We need them. We didn’t have many of those at all last year. Sometimes for explosive plays you need explosive players. I think we have a couple of those guys. I think when our players have a better understanding of what we are doing that will allow us to have more explosive plays. When you have guys like a Johnny Ford that can go the distance every time he touches the ball, you will get some explosive plays.”
Spring Game Highlights/Helmeted Pianist
The Scores
- White – 38-yard rush by Zuberi Mobley (first quarter)
- White – 56-yard pass from Michael Johnson, Jr. to Aaron Young (second quarter)
- White – 28-yard pass from Michael Johnson, Jr. to TJ Chase (third quarter)
- Red – Morgan Suarez 51-yard field goal (third quarter)
- White – Aaron Shahriari 47-yard field goal (fourth quarter)
- Red – 74-yard pass from Willie Taggart, Jr. to Johnny Ford (fourth quarter)
- Red – 5-yard pass from Willie Taggart, Jr. to Brandon Robinson (fourth quarter)
- Red – 32-yard pass from Willie Taggart, Jr. to Matthew Akuchie (fourth quarter)
The LeadersRushing
- Kelvin Dean, Jr. (Red) 5 carries, 41 yards
- Zuberi Mobley (White) 6 carries, 63 yards
Passing
- Willie Taggart, Jr. (Red) 5-15-0, 75 yards, 2 TDs
- Michael Johnson, Jr. (White) 5-4-0, 100 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving
- Johnny Ford (Red) 1 reception for 74 yards and 1 TD
- Brandon Robinson (Red) 2 receptions for 16 yards and 1 TD
- Aaron Young (White) 2 receptions for 67 yards and 1 TD
- TJ Chase (White) 2 receptions for 44 yards and 1 TD
Defense
- Jarrett Jerrels (Red) five solo tackles, 2 assists
- Makai Sawtelle (Red) three solo tackles, 4 assists
- Ahman Ross (Red) two solo tackles and 1 TFL for three yards
- Chase Lasater (White) three solo tackles and four assists, 1 TFL for four yards
- Eddie Williams (White) four solo tackles and one assist
- Jordan Helm and Malcolm Lamar had a fumble recovery each. Helm had a 31-yard return
What’s NextFAU will return to the practice fields for conditioning throughout the summer and will then hold fall camp in August. To follow the team socially, visit @faufootball or for the most up-to-date information go to www.fausports.com.
