Football Game Week Begins

BOCA RATON, Fla. - (Aug. 30, 2021) – Game week is here, and Florida Atlantic University football's preparation for No. 11 Florida on Saturday is ramping up.

Over the weekend, Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Willie Taggart announced Saturday's starting quarterback, N'Kosi Perry. Other starters will soon be clarified, but Taggart revealed on Monday that Aaron Shahriari will be the placekicker for week one as well.

Taggart's Take

What did you see throughout camp, and the last week especially, that made N'Kosi Perry stand out?
"It was a really good competition throughout training camp. I was really impressed with all of our quarterbacks and the way they competed. It got, for me personally, feeling really good about that room as we go into the season. Better than what we felt before.

"With N'Kosi, you can tell the young man has experience playing the position at a high level. Just the way he carries himself, the way he is with his teammates. Considering the fact that he didn't have spring ball and came into training camp and knew enough of the offense to be able to compete says a lot about the way he studied and how much he wanted it. As he continued to get reps, you could see he was getting comfortable, and things were starting to happen a lot more for us. You put on top of that his experience, playing in big games, games of this nature and these kinds of environments, it's nothing new to him. And knowing that once he gets all the reps, he's only going to continue to get better."

Last year, you had multiple quarterbacks, do you think we'll see that this year or is it Perry's job?
"We selected N'Kosi to be our quarterback, and that's our plan. He's our quarterback going in; we're not going to play musical chairs or anything of that nature. I know last year you saw us do that, we were still trying to figure out our whole team. We didn't have an opportunity to do (that without) spring ball. But now, we chose him to be our quarterback, and we intend for him to be the quarterback."

Video Highlights

Media Availability

Later today, Monday, is the fall debut of the weekly radio show with Coach Taggart, at Biergarten in Boca Raton at 6 p.m. The show will also be broadcasted live on Fox Sports 640 AM South Florida
Tuesday, Aug. 31 – Offensive Coordinator Michael Johnson and selected players, 8:45 a.m. (in-person)
Wednesday, Sept. 1 – Defensive Coordinator Mike Stoops and selected players, 8:45 a.m. (in-person)
Thursday, Sept. 2 – Coach Taggart's final talk prior to this week's game, 11:30 a.m. via WebEx

*Practice viewings also are scheduled and media members will be taken to the field at the appropriate time. Media members should RSVP to Jonathan Fraysure at jfraysur@fau.edu to receive the call WebEx call invitation.

2021 Season

The Owls open up the 2021 campaign on the road in Gainesville Saturday against Florida, a 7:30 p.m. kickoff and SEC Network telecast. The home opener is the following Saturday, Sept. 11, at 3:30 p.m., hosting Georgia Southern. For more information on tickets, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit HERE.

Also scheduled for opening weekend at FAU Stadium is the Coach Howard Schnellenberger Celebration of Life, to be held the night before the game against GSU, Friday, Sept. 10, with the public event starting at 6 p.m. with videos and photos. The guest speaking portion of the evening will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

N'Kosi Perry

Aaron Shahriari

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Football at Florida on September 5, 2026 at 7:45 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football versus Navy on September 12, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football versus FIU on September 19, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football at ULM on September 26, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Football versus Texas Southern on October 3, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football at Army on October 17, 2026 at 12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic University Athletics