2021 FAU Owls Football Preview

Last season for any college football team was a confusing one, to say the least. The FAU Owls football program was no different as their season was filled with cancelations, postponements, COVID-19 outbreaks, and more.

Adding to all the 2020 craziness was the introduction of new head coach, Willie Taggart. The team went 5-4 in the first season under his helm.

Fast forward to Aug. 16, 2021, and the Owls have a lot to prove this year as they continue to practice in training camp heading into the new season. It all starts is Gainseville, Florida on Sept. 4th as they take on the University of Florida Gators. According to the Associated Press, the Gators are ranked No. 13 in their preseason poll.

On Monday, Taggart, wide receivers coach Joey Thomas, and receivers Brandon Robinson and TJ Chase spoke to the media about where the team is mentally, offensively, and their expectations for the upcoming season.

“Camp is going well, it’s going the way we anticipated,” Taggart said. “I feel like our football team is getting better. We’re going to have a scrimmage this weekend which will be good for our guys. I think the big part for us right now is who can comprehend what we’re giving to them, going out there to execute consistently enough and show us what they can do.”

The quarterback situation for the Owls is still in question as the room includes last year’s starter Nick Tronti, Michael Johnson Jr., Javion Posey, and former Miami Hurricanes quarterback, N’Kosi Perry, which was a recent acquisition for the FAU Football Owls.

Taggart touches on what Perry brings to the Owls in his first season with the program.

“Well, you can tell he’s got experience,” Taggart said. “You just watch his demeanor and the way he carries himself. I’ve been impressed with him and you can tell he’s put in the work to understand the offense.”

While we’ll have to wait and see about who will be QB1 by the first game, the focus today was on the wide receiver room.

In the nine games played last season, the leading receiver for the FAU Football Owls was TJ Chase with 334 yards. The next two leading receivers (Jordan Merrell and Brandon Robinson) combined for 363 yards. As the wide receiver room looks to explode in 2021, they’ll do it under the coaching of Joey Thomas, who was elevated to WR Coach in Jan. 2021.

Thomas, who played professionally in the NFL and the CFL for five years, has prior coaching experience in high school where he served as head coach in two schools in Seattle, Washington, and also worked at Fort Scott Junior College in Kansas.

He spoke to the media about the progress the receivers have made during training camp.

“A good work in progress, there’s been a lot of good things going on out there on the field, but right now, we’re trying to build consistency,” Thomas said. “There’s been some progress, some success, but we’re not satisfied and we’re constantly trying to work on the details and the little things.”

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When Thomas was asked if there is a receiver that stands out to him during camp, he says he “can’t give that away,” but mentions people will be excited and the team has a lot of players that can contribute. He also emphasizes that there is a lot of work to do and cleaning up the little things.

What “little things” is Thomas referring to?

“Breakpoint, making sure you’re taking the right blocking angle, at the top of the route coming out digging on the post route, little things that help you create separation,” Thomas said. “It’s a lot more than just catching the ball, that’s the easy part. When you really break it down, you’re always dealing with press, you have to create separation at the line of scrimmage and there’s different techniques that we talk about that we want to see our wide receivers do consistently.”

Speaking with redshirt junior Brandon Robinson, who finished last season with 145 yards and three touchdowns, he opened with how camp is going and what he’s looking forward to in the week.

“So far camp has been very good and competitive,” Robinson said. “Coach [Thomas] does a good job with making the atmosphere more competitive type of deal, so nothing is set in stone. It’s the best man gets on the field and gets reps, so you have to go out there and show every time. For the next week, preparing for the scrimmage coming up and showing our mind is in the right spot.”

Robinson was asked if there is something new that differs this season from the rest. He mentioned how he looks at the game mentally.

“I would have to say my mindset,” Robinson said. “Going into it with a dawg mindset, more of a ‘kill or be killed’ type of deal, so just be ready to see something that y’all never seen before.”

Robinson also said that the team has a chip on their shoulder and that there is something to prove.

“Right now, we’re looked at like the underdogs, but that’s actually good for us,” Robinson said. “Just to have that ability to go into a game and show that we’re that FAU team from 2019 and 2017. Nothing’s changed, but we have to get back to our roots.”

Graduate student TJ Chase, who aforementioned led the team in receiving yards last season, said how huge the right mentality is when heading into the season.

“If you have a strong mentality, thinking that what it takes to get the job done, then we have a chance at anybody,” Chase said.

Chase also talked about the mindset of heading into a game against the Gators, where, according to ESPN, the Owls have a 7.3 percent chance of winning.

“It’s just one play at a time,” Chase said. “If you do that, then you have a chance. It’s that next play mentality.”

Speaking of mentality, coach Taggart expressed that he wants the team to understand “what we do, why we do what we do, and who we are as a football team” and expressed how the offseason was valuable for every player to get to know each other.

Taggart was also talking about the wide receivers on the roster and what the coaching of Joey Thomas has brought to them.

“From a training camp standpoint, the guys have a better understanding of what we’re doing,” Taggart said. “Guys are having a physical mentality and that’s something we need for them to do. When they have a better understanding of what to do, they can play faster and play instinctively. There hasn’t been many errors and going into year two, that’s how it should be.”

FAU Owls Football will have two scrimmages before their week one matchup against the Florida Gators on Aug. 21st and 28th.

📸 Credit: FAU Football