Cam Fancher has officially taken the reins at quarterback for the FAU Owls and it has been a fast rise for him from transfer, to captain, and now leader of the offense.
The Owls got their leader early in the offseason on December 22nd, and he has quickly earned the trust of the coaches and players around him, with FAU Coach Tom Herman noting his success in the spring, summer, and fall camp, while also noticing the little things he does outside of football to earn the trust of those around him.
The fast rise for him is no surprise to Cam’s beacon of support, which features his Mom April, Dad Jermaine, Step-Dad Tyrone Hogan, and siblings Cierra, Cayden, Cali, and Isaiah, who have seen him grow up into the leader he is both on and off the field, and it’s that leadership, combined with his family’s support which have led him to where he is today.
Whether it’s the connection Fancher has with his younger siblings Cali and Cayden when he visits home, the love of cooking he shares with his mother April, Cam has always formed strong connections with those around him, and his step-father Tyrone says his selfless nature is something that has always been apart of him.
“He makes everyone around him better, me, his brother, his mom… his work ethic is impeccable,” Hogan said. “He makes me work out at the YMCA when he’s in town, his drive for love or football or just being a human being… if you know him, his smile, he’s genuine… he’s the definition of someone you look up to, I’m his Step-father and I look up to him, he goes so hard for everyone in his family, he’s selfless… if you’ve ever heard of a golden child… that’s Cam,” Hogan said.
Fancher’s leadership at a young age was evident in all facets of life and even though some kids may demonstrate leadership in sports, Cam was able to exude leadership no matter what facet of life. Even as a child, Fancher was able to demonstrate the ability to lead those around him and he believes it was just something that was a part of him growing up.
“That was just instilled in me from my family and playing wise, I had coaches who were around me at a young age and they instilled hard work and always keep going, and I just always wanted to do right,” Cam Fancher said.
In terms of Football, Cam has always been able to compete, first at Wayne HS, then Marshall and now FAU. His athletic ability may hail from his Father Jermaine, who was a multi-sport athlete in Ohio and earned a scholarship to West Virginia.
Leadership however, is something according to Fancher’s mother April, Cam was able to excel on his own, never leaning on others and finding a way to motivate himself alongside those around him.
“He was always one that didn’t have to be told what to do or ask what to do, he just did it without expectations, so I started seeing leadership skills with him when he was young,” April Fancher said. “He always excelled in school and was in gifted programs, he just really excelled with whatever he did without having a lot of pushing from us, he’s just always exudes that.”
The aforementioned leadership was on full display during Cam’s time at Marshall, and after 2 successful seasons it was time for Fancher to find a new home. With plenty of suitors coming after a QB with dual threat ability and success at a D1 level, the Fancher family had to do a lot of thinking about what was the best decision for their son.
Cam’s step-father Tyrone grew up with current Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman and legendary OSU QB Braxton Miller has been in Fancher’s life since he was an infant. Miller played for FAU Coach Tom Herman during his time as the OC at Ohio State, and Hogan says the Fancher family trusted Miller’s advice, ultimately transferring to FAU and it has been a really positive experience so far.
“Herman coached Braxton Miller, and we trust Braxton, we had LSU, NC State, tons of P5s at him and we fell in love with Coach Herman, Coach Frye their wives and family, Coach Carter, Coach Love and just the FAU staff, they were genuine, honest, caring people,” Hogan said.
Tom Herman’s offense is something former Ohio State QB Braxton Miller is very familiar with, having spent time together at Ohio State from 2012-2014, which included an undefeated season in 2012 and Big 10 player of the year in 2013. Miller credits a lot of his success to Herman, who helped him develop as a passer, runner, but also improved his overall knowledge.
“Coming underneath Tom Herman, he changed my whole mental about the game and how to see it differently from a coaches perspective, taking that coaching I learned from him out on to the field,” Miller said. “Being able to learn from someone that’s tied-in, knowing the knowledge of everything, the ins and outs from the defense and offense, O-Line, fronts, everything as a whole changed my whole game… he’s one of the best I’ve experienced in my life from a football aspect.”
Miller was able to thrive in a Herman based offense, rushing for over 1000 yards twice in 2012 & 2013, while also throwing for over 2000 yards, his diversity helped Ohio State dominate in the mid 2010s. With Charlie Frye’s pro-style influence this has a chance to be a perfect match for Cam Fancher.
Miller sees similarities between Himself and Fancher, besides the fact both are the pride of Huber Heights Ohio, they are similar on the football field in terms of dual threat ability and leadership, which he believes is why this is a situation for Cam to thrive in.
“I see a lot of similarities with me and Cam, we are very similar in how we approach the game, being an athlete and having the ability to throw and run, coming from the same city and high school, similarities personality wise as well,” Miller said. “I thought a great fit for him was what I experienced with a great coach like Tom Herman, it’s a great opportunity for him to connect with somebody that helped me take my game to the next level.”
Fancher put his trust into Miller, who is a huge figure in his life and whether it was his personal or football side, the two were always communicating and looking to better each other. That is why when Miller recommended FAU and Tom Herman, it was an easy decision for Fancher to go somewhere where he could be impacted by someone who helped his mentor excel.
“Growing up, Braxton was the guy that I looked up to and was a part of my life, I can remember it like it was yesterday, he was one of the first people that taught me how to take a 3-step drop, having him was definitely a big help, showing me how to operate and go about business,” Fancher said. “Herm and the Dual Threat type of quarterback, seeing him with Braxton I thought there was a lot of similarities in our game.”
Cam was able to find a match on the field, but off the field, transitioning to a new location sometimes can be hard for anybody, especially when it’s the furthest you’ve been from your hometown and when things aren’t going well in a move the first person a lot of people will call is their Mom.
April Fancher thought the adjustment could have been hard, but those calls haven’t been coming, instead it’s been all positive for the Fancher family at FAU, with April saying Boca Raton has improved her son’s life both on and off the field.
“He’s had nothing but good things to say about the university, the coaches, about everything within FAU, I just think his quality of life has improved tremendously,” Fancher said. “He’s taken a 360, when he was at Marshall he was very focused on what he had to do everyday which was school and football, he even made a remark one time ‘Mom I feel like a Robot, I don’t have anything else to look forward to, there’s just nothing here,’ It’s nice to see he can get up in the morning, he can walk to the beach, he can go downtown and enjoy other things, having some of his buddies there has been nice, EB and Caleb, and EJ came over, so he’s got a little bit of that hometown feel, I just think overall he’s just happier where he’s at now,” Fancher said.
With Fancher succeeding off the field, the next step is for him to find success when he takes the field against Michigan State on August 30th, and Fancher is expecting potentially 100+ family members as the game is only 4 hours away from Huber Heights.
In his first career start in 2022 against James Madison it was an up-and-down affair, with Fancher tossing 2 picks, but leading his squad to a 26-12 victory on the road in Harrisonburg. Fancher’s ability to push mistakes aside, and find a way to lead his squad to victory is something his step-father believes is one of his best attributes and believes FAU fans should watch out for when he takes the field.
“Cameron has no highs, he has no lows, he has ice veins, if he does something that’s not good you don’t break him, he moves onto the next play, it’s just built into him,” Hogan said.
This debut will be a little bit different than his first, in front of 75,000 at Spartan Stadium rather than 24,000 against JMU, and coming in as a seasoned veteran rather than a redshirt freshman. According to Fancher however, this debut isn’t going to be much different to him and that his family in attendance is going to be a huge personal boost.
“I feel like there isn’t that much of a difference, at the end of the day it’s about me going out, executing a plan that the coaches put together and doing my job play in and play out, I feel like that was my mindset before I started and that is still my mindset,” Fancher said “I think it’s a good thing for me, having that support is what keeps me going, when you have a family that supports you and what you love, and has been there for you, it’s fun to have them at games like this,” Fancher said.