FAU Coach Tom Herman fielded questions Tuesday afternoon as FAU came out of the bye week and prepared for a matchup with North Texas on ESPN 2 this Saturday.
The Owls are dealing with injury issues at receiver, but they have healed up at other positions and head into this matchup with a healthy QB room and DB room which over the past 2 weeks has been an issue.
Herman discusses a variety of niche topics from the need of an IPF, the culture of the program keeping players in the program, the effects of hurricane Milton on practice and more.
The Owls head into this game optimistic having seen what they look like at their best in the second half against Wagner, but North Texas will provide a new challenge that will show if FAU has turned a page heading into conference play.
Herman opening statement
“It’s been frustrating. Certainly, we’ve now had six straight weeks where our practice schedule and lifting schedule, training schedule has been disrupted by the weather but our guys are learning how to adapt. I think, we’ve played pretty well in the two rain delay games that we’ve had in Michigan State and FIU. So, it is what it is. I think our guys are pretty used to it. This week. It’s different because you want to be thankful that you had a bye week. The problem is, we didn’t find out about this hurricane until late in the week. And you plan your two weeks thinking that you’re going to have a normal week coming out of it going into the game. And so now that has to change, and you can’t go back and get that time back, that maybe you cut off practice the week prior. So it’s been difficult. We’re going to get pretty much a normal week. We basically didn’t have a Monday practice, so I guess it wouldn’t be a normal week. So we made Monday, Tuesday, Tuesday, Wednesday. We’ll make tomorrow like a Thursday practice and then we’ll have like Thursday by ear. Is what it is, like yesterday when we were planning, kind of looked like Wednesday might be the day that we were disrupted, but now it’s looking more like Thursday. So we’ll try to get a full weekend through Wednesday and then kind of play Thursday by ear. But our guys have been great. And again, if our practice schedule being disrupted is the least that this natural disaster, the least inconvenience that causes us, I think we will be good. So, I do want to let everybody, especially on the, West Coast of Florida that we are thinking about them. I know we got a ton of players from from that area, and we know it’s, I think still, as of now, supposed to get hit pretty hard, either late Wednesday night or Thursday morning So and then our area too, You know we’re doesn’t look like we’re going to be spared a whole lot too. So we know that there’s big, real world problems going on out there, but if we’re going to play the game on Saturday, which it looks like we are, then we need to get our work in. And our guys have been great on being adaptable to that,” Herman said.
Herman on the team focusing on football during bad times
“Yeah, I thought yesterday I told the guys before they got really, really wet towards the end of practice, but at the first hour of practice, it was our best, crispest, most focused practice and shorts that we’ve had since I’ve been here. Now, probably should have been… they had three days off, and they should be rested. But today, much of the same, a little bit more back into the routine. But I think you’re right. When you got a lot of these distractions going on in the real world. A lot of times it’s refreshing to get out there on that field and kind of lose yourself a little bit,” Herman said.
Herman on what he expects out of north Texas
“Coach has got them going really good. They’re four and one, led mostly by their offense. Chandler Morris at quarterback, a young man that I saw in high school, heck of a player in high school, and was a big time recruit and got a ton of respect for his dad, former head coach at SMU, Arkansas offensive coordinator at Clemson and Chad Morris. So football family, anytime you get those guys, you got a coach’s kid at quarterback that was whatever he was, a four star talent wise, who’s a coach’s kid who’s now in his sixth year, That’s a that’s a really, really smart dude back there taking snaps for you, got 16 touchdowns in five games. That’s by my math. That’s over three a game. But he has thrown, you know, six picks, so that’s over one a game. So we’ve got to disrupt him at the end of the day. If he has a good day, we’re not going to have a good day. We need to make sure that, one, we cover the guys really well, but two, that he feels that kind of pressure I said on the TV show, that I’ve been around some really, really good quarterbacks. Had to coach against some too, and none of them can throw it from their back, and very few of them can throw it at their best when guys are breathing out their neck so he’s the key defensively. We’ve got to make him feel uncomfortable, and part of that is making sure guys aren’t open down the field,” Herman said.
Herman on the vibe of the team, and health post bye
“The overall health is not great, but it’s not getting any better. You know, we’re down four out of your projected top six wide receivers. We’ve got a couple guys that will be out for the season, that’s a blow that you don’t make up, there’s no waiver wire. So the health is what it is. You’ll see, Jayden Williams back. You’ll see, hopefully, if he makes it through this week, Zeke Moore. Cam Fancher, he was, other than Last Tuesday’s practice, He’s been full go. He was still some of that swelling was still in there, but he’s been fine, and he’s, I think the team is optimistic, because I think l they’ve seen us at our best. That second half against Wagner, that’s what an American Conference team is supposed to do against an FCS team. We shut them out, we held them 60 yards. We stopped them on fourth down, rushed for 220 yards, those are all things that we look like, what an American Conference team is supposed to look like playing an FCS team at home. And so I think they’re like, whoa, okay. But they also saw that second quarter where they were like, man, if we, if we don’t, dot our i’s and cross our T’s every single play, an FCS team can make us look silly. And so I think it’s almost, it’s a good hesitation because they know who they are and they know what they’re capable of, and it’s like, we still see this over here, and we’re on red alert to make sure that we don’t, start sliding down a slippery slope again,” Herman said.
Herman on Kasen Weisman’s role
“I wouldn’t say mixing, Cam’s been getting the majority. I think we’re left with a much more comfortable feel for if we needed to call Kasen, since number one, his readiness, and then two, kind of us knowing what he’s capable of too,” Herman said.
Herman on Weisman getting a chance after stepping away from football
“Did you see our quarterback room in the spring, it was an open invitation a little bit so, he had the good fortune of that. But I think you don’t lose the love, you don’t lose your ability to play that position or this game in a couple months. I saw it as a plus. You know that here’s the guy that walked away, albeit in the off season, right? I mean, but in his mind, he was done and but found a recommitment to something that he loves. And you can tell, I mean, I didn’t know him before, but I sure do like this version and his passion for the game, for sure. So I don’t think it was a big determinant, not even off three, four years, maybe. But yeah, a couple months, I was good with it,” Herman said.
Herman on not having any players redshirt with an intent to transfer and it being an factor of the culture
“Yeah, and I appreciate you asking that, it’s hard. You’ve got to be mindful of the freedoms that some of these young guys have now with our rules the way that they are, and you have to respect that, but you also have to do a great job of understanding that, we’re still in the relationship business, we’re still in the people business, and very few people aren’t. You are, I am. Every salesperson is every, maybe the ditch digger somewhere, he’s not the people business. But getting back to that, I think when you you prove to a young man that you have his best interests off the field first in mind, and that you make decisions that prove to him over and over again that you do and you have his best interests in mind on the field, and you prove to him over and over and over again that you continue to make him a really good player, or a better player than he was a year ago. That goes a long way with, you know, playing time maybe is not where the guy might want it, but he knows or believes that it’s his own doing and not as coaches. He’s not getting screwed. He’s not, you know, all of that because of that relationship with his coach, and so hopefully we have a lot less guys year in and year out that kind of have their eyes on the door, because the way we go about our business makes it difficult to do that,” Herman said.
Herman on the need of an IPF and schools willingness to make one
“Yeah, and I, and I know that Brian White our athletic director, shares that vision with me. You know, we made the jump into this conference, I hope with eyes very wide open. You know, of the 14 teams in this conference, us and Charlotte are the only two that don’t either have an indoor practice facility or plans to get one. And so we’re working really hard behind the scenes. I know Brian and Mary are, and it’s fun to see that and then understand. And the university, hey, we decided to be in this conference. We better act like it, you know. And so although it has affected these last few weeks, it’s been nice to see people on campus acknowledge like, Hey, this is something we need, and we need it in a hurry and something temporarily, even, you know, by next off season. So I think the wheels are definitely in motion, I don’t want to over say, nothing’s been promised to me, but I am confident that everybody that needs to know how important it is does know how important it is, and is working really hard to make sure that we get there,” Herman said.
Final Thoughts
FAU heads into this matchup knowing that it is a crucial matchup ahead, but they have seen what they look like at their best and worst, and will hopefully execute at their highest level on Saturday.
The culture that is being built is evident and although the on the field success hasn’t been instant, no players transferring out mid season is a sign that the locker room has bought in, which Herman has worked hard to make the case.
With the weather that has been around lately, an Indoor Practice Facility is something that would have been beneficial to the Owls and it is something that Herman and the Athletic department are working to make happen, potentially with a short term solution this offseason.
The Owls will battle the conditions over the next few days preparing for North Texas and hopefully will be prepared to face off against a high octane attack on Saturday evening.