FAU Football: Offensive and Defensive Coordinator Speak About Units’ Progressions | August 26th, 2021

Boca Raton, FL – FAU Football Offensive Coordinator, Michael Johnson, and Defensive Coordinator, Mike Stoops spoke to the media Wednesday. The coordinators shared what they’ve seen from the team heading into the start of the season. 

Stoops and Johnson are two new additions, brought in by head coach, Willie Taggart. They have served on high-level teams. Stoops has coached at such places as Alabama, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kansas State, and Iowa. Johnson reunites with Taggart from their time at Oregon where he was a recruiter and a wide receivers coach.

Coach Michael Johnson – FAU Offensive Coordinator

Johnson said that he’s seen improvement from the offense. He mentioned how the scrimmage last Saturday was critical, having the team in the stadium running game-time scenarios. “We’re working on the fundamentals and the details and all the things that go into putting together a good offense,” Johnson said. “I think certain skill guys that we have been making plays in certain situations and they’re getting better and getting, more comfortable with their role. So I think overall as a unit, we’re getting better.” 

Another aspect of the offense that stood out to coach Johnson was the offensive line. He emphasized the “growth and improvement they’ve made.”

While he was talking about the improvement of the offense, he mentioned what he wants to see more from his team as they head into the start of the season. “Well, I think I think one area that we wanted to improve in was our physicality, and being a more physical offense, more physical in the run game, and getting behind our pads more and finishing plays and blocks,” Taggart said. “We wanted to get better in our passing game also and work on our timing and our spacing and quarterback drops and making sure that our timing and rhythm is where it needs to be.”

Johnson also stresses that he wants to see more situational football be executed. This includes work in the red zone, third downs, two-minute drills, and other scenarios.

The Quarterback Battle

The quarterback battle has been ongoing for the Owls and it looks like we’re still in the thick of it. Johnson says that all the four signal-callers getting reps are getting better each and every day. “Well, I think they’ve all gotten reps, and they’ve all improved. And, now it’s a situation where coach Taggart, myself, and you know some of the other coaches sit down, and then you know we got to narrow it down,” Johnson said. “He [Taggart] has to make the decision, finalize all that and tell you guys who the starting quarterback is. That’s not my decision to make.”

Like Taggart, Johnson’s son plays quarterback for the Owls and is part of the quarterback room. He talks about how he’s improved but also mentions how he doesn’t focus on the sole fact that he is his son. “He’s improved also I mean, I got four guys that I coach and he is one of them, and he’s made improvements. He’s made strides and gotten better through the fall camp,” Johnson said. “So, I’m pleased with where he is, but, you know, he’s one of the other guys. So I coached him just like I coach everybody else and I’m happy with his improvement. Just like I am with all the other guys.”

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Coach Mike Stoops – Defense

Coach Stoops talks about where the defense is at the moment and where he expects them to be in the build-up to game one. “Well, we keep moving forward. I think that the players have done a great job trying to try to improve. We’re pretty healthy in our two-deep. We’re getting some guys back, so I’ve been pleased overall with their effort and their willingness to learn and keep developing,” Stoops said. “So it’s always a work in progress, but overall we got probably somewhere to 70-80% of our defense in and they’ve retained did pretty well. They work hard and trying to understand the concepts and just got to keep pushing forward and keep improving. It’s been a really fun group to work with.”

Just like coach Johnson, he’s confident about the defense but expresses that there is work to be done. That was shown during the scrimmage. “Well, I think, you know, our overall execution wasn’t as clean as it needed to be, but first time in that situation, I thought it was a great learning experience for all our players. Though, we’ve benefited from it tremendously,” Stoops said. “Still, we just got to keep pushing ourselves forward. And, you know, getting better at missed assignments, lack of execution, and certain areas… Guys going the wrong way, so communication’s always big early on. And guys have a hard time verbalizing things when they’re not confident in what they’re doing. So, just keep building the confidence and understanding of what we’re trying to do.”

Out of the 12 players that got awarded a single-digit jersey number, nine of them were on the defense. Stoops explains what that means to him and the players. “Well, I think a lot of it is, is that our guys have been pretty reliable, that we’ve counted on and done a good job, doing things we’ve asked, what coach wants them to do so, they’re very good players,” Stoops said. “They’ve been consistent forces in the program and I think that’s what coach is trying to reward and that’s always a good thing. Players have to earn their way and I think certainly all these guys have shown that their willingness to do the right things and play the game the right way.”

The FAU Owls Defensive and Offensive Coordinators will prepare for their second scrimmage this Saturday. Their first game of the season is against the Florida Gators on Sept. 4th in Gainesville, Florida.

Photos courtesy of FAU Athletics.