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Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Kittley Year Two Underway
3/17/2026 4:20:00 PM | Football
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic football, under the direction of second-year Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley, got spring football underway Tuesday morning with a two-hour practice session.
The Owls moved through their paces with leadership and familiarity returning for year two with all position coaches as well as redshirt senior starting QB Caden Veltkamp back for the 2026 season. FAU is the only FBS program to bring back all of them.
While Veltkamp will be sidelined for much of the spring, the signal caller participated in practice when allowed and served in a leadership role during the contact sessions.
More than 50 newcomers participated in practice on Tuesday, following the lead of key FAU returners like senior DTs CJ Doggette Jr. and Wilky Denaud.
VIDEO RECAP
QUOTABLE
Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley
On continuity entering year two
"Those 10 full-time coaches, including myself, all intact, I can't put a price tag on how important that is. There's so much continuity, the staff understands what I'm expecting from them. But also, we have a bunch of key returners coming back on this football team too, so they understand exactly what we're trying to do. We're not trying to install new schemes, offense, defense, or special teams, it's all there…The continuity is almost unheard of in the world we're living in right now, so to have that is super special for us."
On the goal of spring
"Coach Lee [Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Brandon Lee] comes up to me about every 15-20 minutes at practice and asks how it's going. I told him my whole job is, at the end of the day, we have to get better as a unit, the whole 100+ players on the team right now. We have a lot of new faces so we have to find out what we're good at, what our players can be the most successful at."
Redshirt Senior RB Leonard Farrow
On adjusting to Florida Atlantic
"It has been amazing. As soon as I got up here, it already felt kind of like a family. That was a big reason why I committed to here. Coach Kittley is big on family being the common man. The running back room welcomed me in with open arms like I knew them my whole life. It was definitely a comfortable feeling, knowing that I have guys that are rooting for me as I root for them."
On making the transition to Division I football
"We all as players have pro aspirations, so that was the biggest reason why I wanted to take a step up. I kind of just wanted to bet on myself because I have always been looked over throughout my whole college career, even in high school I was looked over in recruiting. Being a small-town kid, it's a big deal going DI from where I'm from. Just betting on myself and putting it on for my family and friends back home, it's a big deal for me."
Redshirt Junior DL Wilky Denaud
On adjusting to a new position
"It has not been much of a big adjustment for me just because last year was the same defense for me. Last year playing the edge, I had to know what the inside guy was doing. The last game of the season [in 2025], I played it a little bit versus ECU...It made me want to come back and play inside for Coach (Devin) Santana."
On the importance of leadership
"I definitely want to lead the group, that's everybody's goal. Having guys like CJ (Doggette Jr.), Blake (Burris), and Corey (Clark), all of those guys, we all want each other to get better every single day. We're always trying to figure out ways to help each other, like if we see something that they don't see, then we let them know and we get better as a group from there."
PHOTO GALLERYGallery: (3-17-2026) Spring Practice #1
2026 SPRING ROSTER, COACHES AND SUPPORT STAFF
Click HERE.
2026 SEASON TICKETS NOW ON SALE
2026 Florida Atlantic Football season tickets are now sale. Tickets start at $75 plus a $5 processing charge per seat, along with various premium seating options. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit FAUSports.com/tickets, email tickets@fau.edu, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS during normal business hours to order tickets or speak with a ticket sales representative.
FOLLOW THE TEAM
Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com or through football's Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUFootball.
The Owls moved through their paces with leadership and familiarity returning for year two with all position coaches as well as redshirt senior starting QB Caden Veltkamp back for the 2026 season. FAU is the only FBS program to bring back all of them.
While Veltkamp will be sidelined for much of the spring, the signal caller participated in practice when allowed and served in a leadership role during the contact sessions.
More than 50 newcomers participated in practice on Tuesday, following the lead of key FAU returners like senior DTs CJ Doggette Jr. and Wilky Denaud.
VIDEO RECAP
QUOTABLE
Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley
On continuity entering year two
"Those 10 full-time coaches, including myself, all intact, I can't put a price tag on how important that is. There's so much continuity, the staff understands what I'm expecting from them. But also, we have a bunch of key returners coming back on this football team too, so they understand exactly what we're trying to do. We're not trying to install new schemes, offense, defense, or special teams, it's all there…The continuity is almost unheard of in the world we're living in right now, so to have that is super special for us."
On the goal of spring
"Coach Lee [Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Brandon Lee] comes up to me about every 15-20 minutes at practice and asks how it's going. I told him my whole job is, at the end of the day, we have to get better as a unit, the whole 100+ players on the team right now. We have a lot of new faces so we have to find out what we're good at, what our players can be the most successful at."
Redshirt Senior RB Leonard Farrow
On adjusting to Florida Atlantic
"It has been amazing. As soon as I got up here, it already felt kind of like a family. That was a big reason why I committed to here. Coach Kittley is big on family being the common man. The running back room welcomed me in with open arms like I knew them my whole life. It was definitely a comfortable feeling, knowing that I have guys that are rooting for me as I root for them."
On making the transition to Division I football
"We all as players have pro aspirations, so that was the biggest reason why I wanted to take a step up. I kind of just wanted to bet on myself because I have always been looked over throughout my whole college career, even in high school I was looked over in recruiting. Being a small-town kid, it's a big deal going DI from where I'm from. Just betting on myself and putting it on for my family and friends back home, it's a big deal for me."
Redshirt Junior DL Wilky Denaud
On adjusting to a new position
"It has not been much of a big adjustment for me just because last year was the same defense for me. Last year playing the edge, I had to know what the inside guy was doing. The last game of the season [in 2025], I played it a little bit versus ECU...It made me want to come back and play inside for Coach (Devin) Santana."
On the importance of leadership
"I definitely want to lead the group, that's everybody's goal. Having guys like CJ (Doggette Jr.), Blake (Burris), and Corey (Clark), all of those guys, we all want each other to get better every single day. We're always trying to figure out ways to help each other, like if we see something that they don't see, then we let them know and we get better as a group from there."
PHOTO GALLERY
2026 SPRING ROSTER, COACHES AND SUPPORT STAFF
Click HERE.
2026 SEASON TICKETS NOW ON SALE
2026 Florida Atlantic Football season tickets are now sale. Tickets start at $75 plus a $5 processing charge per seat, along with various premium seating options. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit FAUSports.com/tickets, email tickets@fau.edu, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS during normal business hours to order tickets or speak with a ticket sales representative.
FOLLOW THE TEAM
Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com or through football's Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUFootball.
Players Mentioned
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