Football Returns on a Hot Monday, Coordinators Join the Conversation

Following Saturday's scrimmage in FAU Stadium, the Florida Atlantic University football team returned to the field to make corrections and to continue to prepare of the 2019 season.

Following Monday's practice, media members had the opportunity to sit down for the once-a-year interview session with FAU's defensive coordinator, Glenn Spencer, in his first season with the Owls, and second-year offensive coordinator, Charlie Weis, Jr.

Defensive Coordinator

Glenn Spencer
After a little more than a week of camp, what has been your biggest takeaway on the defense as a whole?
"It has kind of been a continuation from spring ball. I think the kids did a great job in the summer of getting out there on their own recalling, re-repping - all of our calls – all of our base calls. In the fall, we were so much more ahead than where we were in the spring, of course. Because of that, they were able to pick up and play with a lot more confidence early on, than we did when we first implemented the defense in the spring. It is a process. We have a lot of practices left to go. We need every one of them."

What stands out to you about Da'Von Brown's game?
"From the first day that I stepped in here, I could just tell. He has that look in his eye. He is hungry. He is always chirping our language, if that makes sense. It's a culture. We have our own language we speak in. He is in my office. He is not my position player. He is just yearning for knowledge. He wants to be very good. I don't know what the heat index was today, well into the 100's. It was the hottest day since I have been here. This ole man here (referring to himself), the head started spinning out there somewhat. These guys running around out there, like they are, so I was impressed. The reason I brought that up is that he is the guy that is pushing them. He is the vocal leader of the defense, by far."

About a week ago, Kiki (Akileis Leroy) called the defense "The Mob." I think someone described it as authentic toughness. Do you see that out of the defense, even though it is early?
"It is day-to-day. I didn't see it today. Like I told them after (practice) today, the other side of the ball is in the same element you are – whether it heat, cold – it doesn't matter. I'm good with that. Just be careful. When you say something and claim it, you better own it every day. So, you better bring it every day. He has had a good camp. I'm not getting down on him. It is just the whole group. (To) come up with those things, that is good, but you better back it up."

As a defensive coordinator, what stands out to you about Chris Robison? (Faced him as an opposing defensive coordinator a year ago)
"We have some good ones now, so I lose track of who is in there. Since you brought it up, from last year's breakdown, I always said in the scouting report that he had a lot of poise. I didn't think he got flustered. He had some balls, last year, on the money. They moved the ball on us and it was because of him not getting rattled. He stood in there and took a shot a couple of times, threw some nice deep over routes – put them on the money. You have to have a lot of respect for him. He was out of the spring, but I have gotten a good chance to know him a little bit this camp. I don't see him much, but I always like to stick my head in and have those guys rib me a little bit and I rib them. He is a competitor. He is going to win a lot of games for us."

What have you seen out of Teja Young that makes him an important part of this defense?
"I'm glad you brought it up. If I had to say a guy that needed to come through for us – that so far again it is day-to-day, he could go down there tomorrow and whatever – so far, this fall he has come a long way since the spring. He has just gotten more focused. He had some academic issues that he took care of. When you get behind in life, it affects you on the field. When you get behind in the little things you do day-to-day, it catches up with you on the field. I think that is what happened to him in the spring. Hopefully, he has gotten over the hump there and he is on top of his world so he can go out there and leave all the distractions behind. He has had a good camp."

Last year, the defense had a great fall and looked like it was ready to dominate and then just struggled throughout the season. I'm wondering as a coordinator, the defense looks really good again thus far, how do you know whether it is your guys playing well or maybe the offense is struggling? How do you determine stuff like that?
"I can't comment on last year. Just doing this for about 30 years, it all works together. It really bothers me when one side of the ball gets singled out. Because people have no idea, me being where I'm at, how the offense plays and what they do, how it affects us and vice versa. All the sudden, we get the offense some short fields and it all works together. They get some drives burn some clock and we rest. We get a couple of quick three and outs and give them field position. So, people need to examine that before they start chirping about one side of the ball to the other."

Were you pleased with how (the defense) performed in the first half Saturday?
"First drive, I was hot because of the three penalties. We got off the field with no points, but here is what that does. First drive of the game, you were on the field for 13 snaps. So, yes it was great we kept them out of the end zone, but that right there has a big toll on the rest of the day. First drive momentums are big. First drive of the game, first drive of the third quarter. I think if you broke it down statistically, if you have success on those first two, you have a good chance of winning the game. I don't know that for a fact. Look it up. You can call me a liar next week. That is just what I feel."

Do you attribute those penalties as over-eagerness or lack of focus?
"One of our veteran players would have had a targeting and (would have) got ejected. Had a discipline on third down on a hard count. The PI was a combat PI. That penalty is going to happen sometimes. It was going to be a touchdown or a 15-yarder. You don't want either, but if somebody gets behind you that far, let's keep them out of the end zone. Let's live to play another down. But, it was a technique issue that got him in that spot."

The defensive line forced a couple of turnovers on Saturday, including the Noah Jefferson interception. What have you seen out of them throughout the spring/fall that can allow them to make the most important impact, come Ohio State and beyond?
"You are catching me at a bad time because we just came off the field of a 100+ whatever day and I thought we were lacking some juice. I'm not pleased right now, but that being said, we have enough guys there that we can get a good rotation and can win a lot of games for us. It is all about mental toughness upfront. I played up there. Toughest guys on the team. I told them that the first meeting. I separated them out of the room and said listen, 'it is all on you guys.' They get hit from the right, the left, high and low. We are asking you to turn and sprint to the ball every snap. We are asking you to make plays outside the numbers. You have to attack the fast tempo offense. You've got to spring back to the huddle. You have to be disciplined enough to stay on-sides, you have to hear the call, hear the assignment and all the time you got about 600-pounds hitting you on every snap. We've got to get them tougher."

Are you still experimenting with and the roles they will play or are you past that yet?
"No. You know what happens, when you get some guys dinged up, it can create that, which is good. As a coach, you have to get locked in, it's not right. We had a couple of injuries from Saturday. A couple of guys were sitting. So today, we moved the depth chart around and it will benefit you in two or three weeks because those guys that you haven't seen play much and are going to play in the fall, they had to get reps today. They weren't perfect, by far. It was far off from the guy that got hurt, but it is a great learning tool for those guys. We are still trying to create some depth and there are some good competition at some spots that roll with the ones."

How much of your defense is installed now?
"We are still installing a little bit. Most of it is in. We will have to game plan for Ohio State too. Percentage wise, (I'd) just say 'most.' "

Offensive Coordinator

Charlie Weis, Jr.
Coach (Lane) Kiffin said after Saturday that Chris (Robison) and Nick (Tronti) have taken a step forward. What have you seen?
"I think Chris and Nick have both done a phenomenal job of improving. Chris, unfortunately, we didn't have in the spring, but since he has come back he is more mature. He has a much better grasp of the offense and especially in the protection game, knowing how to fix protections and go to receivers are when they are hot and those things. That is really where Chris has impressed me the most, making those adjustments, seeing the defense and doing all the things that you want a quarterback to do. I think that is the biggest jump from being a freshman to a sophomore. In terms of Nick, I think Nick has taken a huge stride since spring ball. He did a great job in the weight room this summer with Wilson (Love) working on his flexibility and doing some different stuff there. So, he can throw from different arm angles and some of those things. I think he has really improved in the RPO game, making those reads and just getting more comfortable. First time doing anything, in spring ball, it was really his first time repping some of our main pass concepts. It takes a little bit of time to get those down. So, he has (had) a second time around getting to that. He is much more comfortable. He knows what he is doing and he has just made really good improvement."

Looking back, what was your assessment of Chris last fall?
"Chris did some good things and he did some bad things. I think that a lot of that comes with mental focus, throughout a game. I thought he performed a lot better at home than on the road. I think the biggest thing for him moving into this year is keeping that focus every single day. Chris had a lot of really good days in the meetings and on the practice field and he had some bad days. I think that correlates, when you are inconsistent you get some inconsistent play, which we had last year. But, he did do a lot of really good things and I think he has come out in this camp and been so much more consistent every single day and having focus and being ready to go. I think that is the biggest thing."

How difficult is it to judge what those guys (quarterbacks) are doing considering a constant funneling of different wide receivers and trying to get timing? Does that affect them?
"For sure. It definitely does. Right now we are really trying to nail down who our receivers are. There are a lot of new guys that we brought in so there is a lot of rotation right now. Those guys, heck, might not even know who is in. You guys are here at practice, with the two-spot going on. There is a lot of moving parts, especially when we have got three quarterback repping with the ones and twos. Chris is with the threes and then he is with the ones. He is with the twos and moving all over the place. There is definitely some learning curve with the receivers and with the tight ends. I think that is probably where they are best right now, is throwing to those two tight ends with John (Raine) and Harry (Harrison Bryant) because they got the most work with them this summer. Now we have got some of the new receivers in and it is a little more difficult to know who is in. I think there is definitely a little bit of that. Hopefully this next week, we can really nail down who the guys are going to be and start moving forward with those guys so we can get really good timing before we go to Ohio State."

Earlier in camp, Lane Kiffin praised Kevin Smith for his development of the running backs and said that he has done a great job. Have you seen anything out of the freshmen running backs, not just BJ (Emmons) and James (Charles), but Larry (McCammon III) and Kelvin (Dean, Jr.)?
"Coach Smith is the best that I have ever seen at coaching the running back position. He does such a phenomenal job with those guys and getting them right. He is so detail-oriented with his teaching and I think that is where you see a lot of the success that we have had at the running back position here. It is Coach Smith and the details that he has with those guys and making them improve. Like you said James and BJ have done a lot of good things, but Larry and Kelvin Dean have been extremely impressive so far into camp and you can tell how those guys are naturally talented runners and they are still learning and they are still learning from Coach Smith's coaching style. As they keep learning the details of the offense and everything that they have to do, I think you will see those guys making a lot of plays."

You mentioned splitting time with the wide receivers, but one of the wide receivers that seems to have gotten at least somewhat of a consistent spot is John Mitchell. He had a really good spring and then transitioning into the fall he looks like he has had a good fall. Do you see him playing a significant role, knowing you have lost some wide receivers?
"Absolutely. When you lose Jovon (Durante) from last year, obviously there was a huge need for us to have a receiver to step up. I think John Mitchell has kinda owned that role and he knows that he needs to be that guy. From a talent standpoint he is big. He is tall. He is fast. He can do a lot of good things. He still has to work on his consistency day-to-day and keep getting better and better. You can definitely see that the quarterbacks have some trust in him and like to throw him the ball. He does give you a vertical threat down the field which is critical in this offense. We don't like to have short drives. We like to run, run, run, play action and hit a shot. I think he is one of those guys that can come alive doing some of those things. He certainly had a really good spring. He has made some plays in fall. He has got to keep improving. I think he is someone that we will have to count on this season to make a lot of plays."

How have the freshmen running backs transitioned into the college program?
"I think this offseason program that we have with Coach Love is so different than what you get at the high school level. Coach Love does such a great job of getting those freshmen developed extremely fast. Now, Larry is, as you guys have probably seen, physically very developed for a freshman. Coach Love did a great job of getting him in. Coach Love does a great job of not just making every single thing for everybody. He really hones in on each individual and what they need and I think he has really developed those guys and got them physically stronger and put them in a position to play. Once they got in here, thankfully we do get some meeting time in the summer, so they got a little bit of a head start on the offense, but you can still see that physically they have all the tools that you want, it is just that mentally they have to keep getting those reps and get them ready to go."

How do you gauge the offense knowing that the quarterbacks are running with the threes then the ones?
"We are still in that process of figuring things out but obviously we expect success no matter what quarterback is in. All of the guys have the ability to lead us and do some really good things. No matter what quarterback is in there, what receiver, (or) what tight end, we demand success and demand the best with who we are in this offense. When we don't score on a drive or whatever it is disappointing. If we don't convert on a third down it is disappointing or turn the ball over, those things are all disappointing. We expect success no matter what quarterback is in, but certainly throughout this week and a little bit into next we want to nail down who our core guys are and really start going to work with them."

What have you seen from the tight ends so far?
"I mean Harry and John, I think you guys all know that those guys are phenomenal players and phenomenal people and they've had a great start to camp – making a lot of plays and doing a lot of good things. We are going to have to really count on both of those guys. I have been really impressed with some of the other tight ends that we have. Logan Peterson is a guy that hasn't played very much here, but he has done a really good job of getting better. He put a lot of weight on for fall camp and he has improved significantly. Rahmod Smith is another freshman that you will be hearing down the line, being an extremely talented tight end. He has got some really good ball skill, so he is another guy that is working his way and if he keeps improving he is somebody that we can utilize as a weapon. That position, and running back, is the most talented for sure on our offense so we are going to have to count on those guys."

What did you learn from last year's quarterback battle that you have maybe learned in terms of how you evaluate them?
"In terms of the evaluation, I think things remain the same. I think it is just the demand that I'm asking of these guys is a lot higher this year. I don't know if it is the third year overall for the players in this system, or my second year as a coordinator, or whatever it maybe. I think the quarterbacks have a lot more on their shoulders this year, in terms of like what I talked about with Chris with protection and defense changing, run plays and doing some of those things. The mental standpoint. The mental focus and consistency day in and day out has been really important to me with this battle."

Is it responsibilities or freedom?
"A little bit more freedom for them, and also both, responsibility too. Chris has been here another year. Nick had that spring and Justin (Agner) is a really smart guy too. Those three kids in there are really smart players. The more they show that they can do, the more we will allow them. There was a play in the scrimmage that Chris saw man-to-man coverage. He saw Willie (Wright) had press by Armani (Armani-El Adams) and thought that was a good matchup and he checked and threw a go-ball to him. He just underthrew it a little bit. Willie could have made the play. That was one thing that was really encouraging. He did that on his own. It wasn't us that had to do it, where I felt like last year we had to do that a little bit more for them. This year, I think with this group of quarterbacks, they are a little bit more advanced in the system in knowing what to do and we are giving some of the freedom to be able to check and do some of those things."

You are trying to run through a whole bunch of guys at receiver. Trying to do it also at running back. I think the offensive line would tell you they are still working and you have got the quarterbacks. What unit do you have to prioritize and say we have to get this one right first, before all the other stuff will work?
"I think receiver, to me, is the biggest position to really nail down. We have a lot of new guys in there compared to the offensive line. We know who those guys are a little more and they are still jelling for sure. But, receivers are the new people out there. D-Low (Deangelo Antoine) from South Florida and Rahsaan Lewis from UCF so some of those guys we are trying to figure them out. Giving them opportunities and that is the biggest position to me that we need to nail down to find out who we are going to go with, because that is the biggest thing too with the quarterbacks and getting them in the rhythm and timing with those guys. The offensive line we kinda know where they are but there are still battles going on and people improving and jelling and all that. The running back room is extremely talented. I think we will feel good about that position. The tight ends, you guys know who those guys are. The quarterbacks are some talented guys as well."

Are you please with the offensive line so far?
"You know, I would like it to be better. I would like us to have some more efficiency in the run game thus far in camp. I think one thing you have to give credit to, is Coach (Glenn) Spencer's defense is incredibly difficult to go against. There is a reason Coach Kiffin brought him in here. He has done some really good things in the past and at Charlotte they did a tremendous job at stopping the run, heck we saw it first hand, but we would still like to see a little bit more up front from those guys. I think that they take a lot of pride in that and they will keep working towards it and we will get that run game to where we want it to be."

Overall, how are you different between this year and last year, either upstairs or out there?
"The biggest thing is trusting yourself and not second guessing yourself as a first-time coordinator. It is the first time you are doing everything. If something doesn't work, maybe you second-guess yourself, but probably just more confidence in knowing what we are doing and still knowing what coach wants and I think we have a really good relationship now of, here is what he wants to do here and so on and so forth. Here is what we are going with. Here is the plays we want to run versus this. The checks we want to get to and so on and so forth. I think that we are just more comfortable with that."

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What's Next

The Owls will return to the Tom Oxley practice fields 9 a.m. Tuesday morning. While practices are closed to the general public, media members are asked to meet in the Oxley Center Lobby at 8:50 a.m. to receive their credential, prior to going onto the fields. Following practice, head coach Lane Kiffin and requested offensive players will be available.

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All games will be carried by Fox Sports 640 South Florida, where Ken LaVicka and FAU football alum Kris Bartels will have the call. Follow the team via social media @FAU_Football.

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