2024 FAU Spring Game
On Saturday afternoon FAU took the field in organized fashion for the first time this season with the 2024 Spring Game. The Owls debuted their array of depth, as the white team which was made up of majority 2nd and 3rd stringers competed hard, eventually falling to Team Red 25-17 in what ended up being an inter-squad battle. After the game, FAU coach Tom Herman mentioned the culture shift being a big reason why he’s confident in his team heading into this season.
“You mention the culture shift, that’s what I told the guys at the end… I was really proud of not just today, but the whole spring. When you do it as long as I have, every team feels different, this team feels really good. The buy in level is off the charts. The portal gets a bad wrap and probably rightfully so, but the one good thing is that all of these guys that returned could have gone anywhere they wanted, and they chose to stay here. We could have chose to have the roster look different, we chose them to stay here. There’s a much deeper feeling of buy-in and togetherness and hopefully you saw that today in our effort,” Coach Herman said.
Tyriq Starks and Cam Fancher split quarterback duties for the majority of the game, with Luke Rucker and Carson Cruver getting the nod and splitting time in the 4th quarter.
Starks, who spent last year as the third string quarterback, had a spring game performance that showed why he deserves to move up in the depth chart, potentially to # 1. He finished 14/23 with 197 yards, 3 TDS, no interceptions and added 20 yards on the ground.
His first scoring drive of the day was a 41 yard drag route connection to Milan Tucker on 4th down early in the 1st quarter, which only counted for 1 point on the scoreboard, but was recognized in the official stats. His next was a 9-play drive late in the second quarter, one in which he converted multiple 3rd downs with his legs, eventually finding Zeke Moore wide open in the endzone for an 11-yard strike. His last drive of the day in the 3rd quarter also resulted in a score, as he went 5/7 for 61 yards, finding 5 different receivers, finishing it off with a 29-yard TD strike to Coffeyville transfer Jospeh Young.
Cam Fancher who transferred in from Marshall this past offseason had an up and down game, as he finished 19/30 for 145 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs, while adding 25 yards on the ground. His 2 interceptions came during the 2-minute drill in the first half, as Jayden Williams snagged a pass in traffic over the middle, and Antonio Smith intercepted a shot at the end zone near the end of the half.
Fancher was a part of 2 scoring drives, including a 14 play first half drive where he found 4 different receivers, and extended multiple plays with his legs, finishing 5/7 on the drive for 51 yards with 14 yards on his legs. The other, was a 13-play drive capped off by a 4-yard Gemari Sands score, where he found 3 different receivers including his former high school teammate Elijah Brown and ran for 15 yards for a first down on a 3rd and long.
When Fancher transferred to FAU a lot of people expected him to take a hold of the #1 job immediately, however Starks has turned it into quite the qb battle, and if you ask FAU coach Tom Herman, they have elevated each others game.
“We went and signed Cam Fancher for a reason, there was a need at that position and he fills it really well, but what it has done is it has taken a guy like Tyriq Starks, who has already had some exponential growth in our time here, and it’s elevated his play. I think Cam would be the first to admit it’s elevated his play too,” Herman said,
The running back room is going to look a bit different following the departure of Kobe Lewis and Larry McCammon, and the spring game showed that the Owls have the depth, and talent to replace them.
Gemari Sands, Zuberi Mobley, and Cj Campbell were the feature backs for FAU today, as Sands had 40 yards and a score, Mobley had 40 scrimmage yards, and the big contributor was Campbell, who had 5 carries for 90 yards and a score, including a 75 Yard TD to open the second half.
Sands was unable to crack the depth chart last year due to a crowded backfield and a Fall camp injury, however this year believes he has showed what he can do and wants to make an impact.
“I feel like I really had a breakout spring because last year I didn’t really get a spring, and I didn’t even get a fall camp because I got injured,” Sands said.
12 different wide receivers and tight Ends caught passes today for the Owls, and considering depth was going to be a key for this Unit following the departure of La’Johntay Wester, that was exactly what the Doctor ordered.
Overall, it was really a balanced effort for the Owls, as Omari Hayes broke on the scene early in year 3 with FAU leading the way in receptions, as the Redshirt Sophomore finished with 8 catches for 58 yards and 1 TD; showing chemistry with both quarterbacks, and a knack at making defenders miss in space.
Newcomers Milan Tucker and Joseph Young were also major contributors in the pass game, as Tucker led in receiving yards, and was also dangerous in space, as he raked in 64 yards on 5 catches, with the one score being a huge catch and run play. Right behind him was Young who was a deep ball specialist, only catching 2 passes, but hauling in 61 yards, including the 29-yard TD catch in the second half. After the game, Tucker talked about how competition at the receiver position ultimately makes everyone better.
“If you want to talk about the slot, having 2 people who are very dynamic and very capable it takes a lot of pressure off of you, because you know when you go in they will think about you, but it’s not about double teaming him and trying to eliminate his game. We have another receiver who they might also have to double team, and you can’t really double 2 receivers at the same time. It opens up the pass game, the run game, it just makes us a threat, all across the board,” Tucker said.
Everyone in the Tight end room was contributing, as Zeke Moore, Khalil Brantley, Elijah Brown, and Wyatt Sullivan all had multiple catches and contributed to run-blocking. The unity of the room is what sets them apart, and after the game Zeke Moore spoke on it.
“You know we are all very close and eventually I want to say closest room on the team. That starts with our coaches, Coach Luc and Coach Lundsford they really help us out. We do something called real is rare, where we talk about something unrelated to football and that helps us come together and develop each others game at the same time,” Moore said.
The offensive line unit returned only one starter from last season, and with a mobile offense that FAU has, its crucial that the new unit gels quickly. After the game Coach Herman acknowledged that the O-Line may not have had the busiest day due to the lack of motion and blitzes, however the Run game was working and that was in-part due to the work of the offensive line.
“I think it is pretty apparent that our Run game has gotten better. The consistency of it I would like to see improve, but we definitely made chicken salad out of chicken you know what, so that was good to see and they hit some home run when it was blocked to hit some home runs,” Coach Herman said.
Defensively, Decarius Hawthorne, Chris Jones, Latrell Jean, and Morven Jospeh all had sacks, but where the defense stole the show was in the secondary, as the Unit combined for 3 interceptions and a barrage of Pass Breakups.
Jayden Williams and Antonio Smith shut down the offense’s 2-minute drill in the first half, getting interceptions on back-to-back plays, and later in the game Smith got his second when in the 4th quarter he jumped a Carson Cruver pass. Philip Dunham, Buggs Brown, and Courtney Lamas-Lanier were locking down the deep ball, all 3 contributing pass breakups; however, the Owls weren’t allowing anything easy over the middle either, as Chris Tooley and Jarret Jerrells brought some PBUs home to the linebacker unit. After the game, Williams spoke on how today was one of the best games he’s seen from Antonio Smith, and that more is yet to come for Smith.
“I tell Antonio a lot, if you continue having confidence and we continue to instill the confidence in him and he plays with that confidence, Antonio can be one of the best players on the field and I really mean that,” Williams said.
For special teams, Morgan Suarez made his return to the field after missing all of last season with a Leg injury and converted a 26-yard Field Goal, and Robert Hammond III converted a 47-yard FG. Nick Salmon and Logan Lupo split punting duties and Salmon pinned a punt at the 1-yard line.
Overall, for the Owls there is a lot to be happy with, as both QBs displayed their talent; with Starks showing a massive jump from just a year ago, and Fancher showing good chemistry with his new teammates. The WR and RB rooms displayed an incredible amount of depth and big play capability, something the Owls were in need of following the departure of LaJohntay Wester. Defensively, the secondary was extremely strong with newcomers Philip Dunham and Buggs Brown and Returners Jayden Williams and Antonio Smith locking down the secondary.
A lot can change from now till the fall, however what can’t change is the fact that FAU displayed a lot of talent during today’s game, and there is a lot to build on from that.