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Run and Run Defense Focus of Owls Second Scrimmage
9/5/2020 7:52:00 PM | Football
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Saturday was the second practice devoted exclusively to a scrimmage and the focus for the Florida Atlantic University was run and run defense.
Each of the quarterbacks moved through their assignments as the coaching staff continues to evaluate who will lead the Owls to start 2020. Saturday's scrimmage also saw special teams begin to take shape, as well as the addition of game officials.
Taggart's Take
Opening remarks on the day's scrimmage:"It was good. It was back and forth. I thought the defense, for the first half of the scrimmage, really dominated. The offense, there were a lot of mistakes. Early in the scrimmage, the offense did a good job driving down the field, but I thought the defense had that bend-but-don't-break mentality and did a great job of keeping the offense out of the end zone. The offense drove down but didn't get into the end zone. That was great to see, because after that, the defense pretty much dominated the first half of the scrimmage and then the second half, the offense bounced back. I was so glad to see that. If the offense would not have bounced back, I don't think you would have seen a smile on my face right now.
"I always tell our guys it is all about dealing with adversity. You are going to get a lot of it throughout the game and that is what I'm looking for, how guys respond when things aren't going well. When those things happen at practice, for me, I sit back and watch because you learn a lot. You learn who the leaders on your team are. Who is going to go over and talk and inspire the football team or the side of the ball to get going, and you look for those things throughout the scrimmage. Who is going to respond? Who is going to be that leader? Who is going to step up when things aren't going and get the guys to keep it going? It was good to see some guys step up and actually do that and see our offense bounce back, but was a good back-and-forth. Defense dominated the first half. I would say the offense got the advantage of the defense in the second half of the scrimmage. We will leave it out there even. Nobody won. The Owls won and that is a good thing."
Sideline Celebrations
- The scrimmage began with a kickoff, featuring both the first and second team units
- Redshirt Daniel Leconte had the first explosive play, with a 32-yard run from his own 25
- Redshirt freshman quarterback Javion Posey guided the squad through its situational play with junior running back Malcolm Davidson rattling off a 10-yard run to the 22, followed by a 20-yard run to the two. With the ball placed on the five, Posey kept it and carried it in for the score. The offense elected to go for two and Posey elected to take it him himself
- Several drives later, Posey connected with redshirt senior running back James Charles, who was instrumental on the day, to keep the drive alive
- Quarterback Justin Agner, a recent FAU graduate, connected with redshirt junior wide receiver Jefftey Joseph for a 12-yard gain and then found him again, this time for 20-plus yards, followed by an eight-yard run by redshirt freshman running back Kelvin Dean, Jr.
- Senior defensive back Zyon Gilbert was vocal all afternoon and backed it up with a pass breakup
- Charles had a 10-yard pickup that was sandwiched between a defensive stop and a sack
- Agner mounted another drive with a nine-yard run and a pass completion to senior receiver Willie Wright, but the progress was negated by a holding call
- Freshman corner Justin McKithen read the pass and showed his experience at receiver to come back for the ball, grabbing a interception at the 10 and returning it 20 yards to the defensive 30, sending the two sides into a break with the defense clearly winning the first half of scrimmage action
- Coming out of the break, Posey passed to Dean for a gain of nine and then used his legs to move the chains
- Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Tre Jackson had a monster sack and redshirt senior defensive back Korel Smith broke up a pass
- The next drive saw the defense record another sack, once again calling the punt units onto the field
- A mixture of run-pass ignited the Owls' offense with redshirt junior quarterback Nick Tronti spurring it on. Tronti rushed for 15 then handed off to Dean who added another 10 before Tronti hit redshirt junior tight end Logan Peterson, who weaved his way through traffic for a 47-yard score and celebration
- Tronti, one of four quarterbacks sharing equal snaps throughout the scrimmage, stayed on the field for the next drive, which began on the 30-yard line. A 16-yard reception by tight end Michael Irvin II, a graduate student, was followed by a defensive back-breaking run by Charles who hugged the sidelines for 58 yards and the score
- Next up was Davidson who took the handoff on 1st and 10 from the offensive 25 and never looked back for the 75-yard score
- Following several more drive attempts, Tronti scrambled out of the pocket and slung a sidearm pass to Irvin, who made an athletic catch and then took it into the end zone for an 11-yard score
- Freshman quarterback Willie Taggart, Jr. led the final scoring drive of the day, which included a catch by redshirt junior Brandon Robinson and ended with a field goal by redshirt junior Vladimir Rivas
- Coach Taggart called the day's competition a draw and it was best exemplified by the final two plays of the day when senior cornerback Diashun Moss recorded a sack and Charles an eight-yard reception, respectively
Tickets
Tickets for the 2020 season are on sale and can be purchased by calling 1-866-FAU-OWLS or online HERE.
Players Mentioned
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