Upcoming Event: Football versus Friday Night Showcase on April 17, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
Football
vs. Friday Night Showcase
Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Full Pads and Live Periods in Practice #4
3/24/2026 2:25:00 PM | Football
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley put the Owls through their Tuesday morning paces, which included team and live periods. It was the team's first opportunity for full contact this spring and the coaches' first opportunity to see the players at full speed.
As expected, the day had its highs and lows with the offense closing out the day with back-to-back scores from the red zone.
PRO DAY
Coinciding with Tuesday's practice was Florida Atlantic's annual pro day. With NFL scouts in attendance, the following former Owls participated in a series of drills and position group workouts:
QUOTABLE
Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley
On the first day of and full pads
"We got to throw the shells on a little bit on Saturday, but [today] was the first day of full pads and incorporate just a small bit of tackling in some periods. We felt like we needed to get some live tackles, just a couple there. I think it excites everybody, especially after about three days of rest before we get back going, get some legs back and stuff like that. It's always fun when you're putting the pads on and you can be a little bit more physical. You just get so much more out of the practice when you get to do that. I thought it was a really good day. I'm excited with where we're tracking after the first four [practices]."
On hosting high school players and coaches at practice
"One thing about me that I'm a huge believer in is the family environment that we have here. There's a lot of recruits here, a lot of high school coaches, but there's also a lot of family members that come to watch their brother or son, whatever the case may be. I think when you add that element, everybody wants to practice a little bit more, show off for their people. It almost gives you a crowd, if you will, to play out in front of. We have had a tremendous amount of support out here at practice and I think that's just going to continue to grow."
On FAU Pro Day
"Pro Day is huge every year. I'm extremely excited for our group of guys we have going. The fun part for me is, everybody goes and train where they train and some are training local and some are training far away. These last few days, you've been able to see some guys trickle back in the building. Alex Atcavage came and hung out with me in my office for about 45 minutes yesterday. Just seeing old faces and guys that I love to death and always will, I'm excited to see how those guys did I'm sure they had a great day."
Tight Ends Coach Jajuan Dulaney
On how the spring has gone for the tight end room
"The biggest thing with this group is I just love the competitive spirit that we have. The guys all come with a tremendous amount of experience too. Between AJ (Johnson), Brooks (Johnson), and Marcus (Vinson), they have played a total of 2,000 snaps. They already kind of know the deal. They can make things work. They do a good job, and they understand what's going on and what it takes out there. That's over half the battle. The biggest thing is I just love the competitive spirit these guys bring every single day. It's intrinsic motivation, I don't necessarily have to spend a lot of time bringing it out of them. They truly want to do it themselves, so that has been great to see every single day."
On restocking the room
"Me and Coach Kittley had a conversation, and it was more so where do we want to go with the direction of this tight end room? It's all about what fits. The one thing I love about Coach Kittley as a playcaller is he truly does cater to his personnel. If he's really good at 10 personnel, he's going to play 10, if he's good at 11, he's going to play 11, and so on and so forth with 12. He has proven that before. We kind of wanted to restock the whole room in that aspect of let's go and find guys that we know can excel in multiple different areas, that are more of a fit for what he had going on as an Air Raid offense here. That's kind of what me and Coach Kittley talked about this past offseason, and it was just a plan of attack. We found a couple of guys that can really do it for us."
On the flexibility to use multiple personnel groupings
"The three guys that have played over 2,000 snaps, also within that, these guys have played multiple spots already in their respective previous offenses. That has been great to see…I do foresee that happening, we have been doing it a lot in practice. I would anticipate us continuing to do that and adding even more. It's all about what the guys can handle and I'll be able to."
Redshirt Senior TE AJ Johnson
On what brought him to Florida Atlantic
"This type of offense, this Air Raid offense, they like to throw the ball. Last year, just seeing Caden Veltkamp sling the ball around, seeing what he can do with the rock in his hands and how he can make different reads and pick apart defenses. Just seeing how they can try to get the ball to everyone, not just one player, one player may shine the most, but everyone is still going to get their parts. Just talking to Coach Dulaney throughout the recruiting process, just him speaking on what they really needed in that room, I felt like I was a player that can step in and make something happen in that position. Me knowing how I can carry the ball, how I can move around with the ball, block, whatever I need to do for the team I feel like I can be the guy you can put there to make it happen and there's people behind me that also push me to do things. We have guys like Brooks Johnson who we go out and we work, Marcus Vinson who we go over plays together. It's more of an iron sharpens iron situation."
On his family being local
"That most definitely played a major role, just bringing my father up here on a visit and him just falling in love with the campus, the coaches, the culture of the program, not being too far away. Just being able to go back home any time I want to, to see my family, my little sister, my brothers, anybody. Being able to just be back where I have been my whole life."
On what he was seeking before choosing FAU
"Even from high school, I was never really a guy that would close any doors. I was open to going anywhere…After a while, I started narrowing the options I was like 'ok, maybe I do want to come back home, maybe I do want to spend my last year around my people, around people like me.' My whole college career I was in the northeast, so around a lot of Philly guys, Baltimore, Maryland, New York, New Jersey. It was more like a culture shock again because me coming back home, I missed this. I hadn't been around a lot of Floridians and southern people in a little minute, so it was really a culture shock just to come back home and experience that again."
PHOTO GALLERYGallery: (3-24-2026) Spring Practice #4
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.
LADIES NIGHT
Florida Atlantic football and Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley invites fans to participate in the 2026 Ladies Night presented by The Power of Sports, scheduled for Thursday, April 23 from 6-9 p.m. The event will take place at the Schmidt Family Complex, next to Flagler Credit Union Stadium at 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Fla. Parking will be in Lot 5, north of the stadium. Dress for the fun and informative night in your best FAU athletic attire as participants will enjoy exclusive shopping, a silent auction, dinner and drinks, on-field drills, as well as time with the Owls' coaching staff, their wives, and players. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for the 6 p.m. event. Admission is $125 for single entry and $225 for a pair. To register, please click HERE. Sponsorships are also available.
FOLLOW THE TEAM
Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com or through football's Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUFootball.
As expected, the day had its highs and lows with the offense closing out the day with back-to-back scores from the red zone.
PRO DAY
Coinciding with Tuesday's practice was Florida Atlantic's annual pro day. With NFL scouts in attendance, the following former Owls participated in a series of drills and position group workouts:
- Alex Atcavage
- Naejaun Barber
- Jett Coolman
- Scarlee Jean
- Chris Keys Jr.
- Michael Kirch
- Bryce Langston
- Jackson Lee
- Logan Lupo
- Devarius Mitchell
- Wendol Philord
- Terez Reid
- Dillion Williams
QUOTABLE
Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley
On the first day of and full pads
"We got to throw the shells on a little bit on Saturday, but [today] was the first day of full pads and incorporate just a small bit of tackling in some periods. We felt like we needed to get some live tackles, just a couple there. I think it excites everybody, especially after about three days of rest before we get back going, get some legs back and stuff like that. It's always fun when you're putting the pads on and you can be a little bit more physical. You just get so much more out of the practice when you get to do that. I thought it was a really good day. I'm excited with where we're tracking after the first four [practices]."
On hosting high school players and coaches at practice
"One thing about me that I'm a huge believer in is the family environment that we have here. There's a lot of recruits here, a lot of high school coaches, but there's also a lot of family members that come to watch their brother or son, whatever the case may be. I think when you add that element, everybody wants to practice a little bit more, show off for their people. It almost gives you a crowd, if you will, to play out in front of. We have had a tremendous amount of support out here at practice and I think that's just going to continue to grow."
On FAU Pro Day
"Pro Day is huge every year. I'm extremely excited for our group of guys we have going. The fun part for me is, everybody goes and train where they train and some are training local and some are training far away. These last few days, you've been able to see some guys trickle back in the building. Alex Atcavage came and hung out with me in my office for about 45 minutes yesterday. Just seeing old faces and guys that I love to death and always will, I'm excited to see how those guys did I'm sure they had a great day."
Tight Ends Coach Jajuan Dulaney
On how the spring has gone for the tight end room
"The biggest thing with this group is I just love the competitive spirit that we have. The guys all come with a tremendous amount of experience too. Between AJ (Johnson), Brooks (Johnson), and Marcus (Vinson), they have played a total of 2,000 snaps. They already kind of know the deal. They can make things work. They do a good job, and they understand what's going on and what it takes out there. That's over half the battle. The biggest thing is I just love the competitive spirit these guys bring every single day. It's intrinsic motivation, I don't necessarily have to spend a lot of time bringing it out of them. They truly want to do it themselves, so that has been great to see every single day."
On restocking the room
"Me and Coach Kittley had a conversation, and it was more so where do we want to go with the direction of this tight end room? It's all about what fits. The one thing I love about Coach Kittley as a playcaller is he truly does cater to his personnel. If he's really good at 10 personnel, he's going to play 10, if he's good at 11, he's going to play 11, and so on and so forth with 12. He has proven that before. We kind of wanted to restock the whole room in that aspect of let's go and find guys that we know can excel in multiple different areas, that are more of a fit for what he had going on as an Air Raid offense here. That's kind of what me and Coach Kittley talked about this past offseason, and it was just a plan of attack. We found a couple of guys that can really do it for us."
On the flexibility to use multiple personnel groupings
"The three guys that have played over 2,000 snaps, also within that, these guys have played multiple spots already in their respective previous offenses. That has been great to see…I do foresee that happening, we have been doing it a lot in practice. I would anticipate us continuing to do that and adding even more. It's all about what the guys can handle and I'll be able to."
Redshirt Senior TE AJ Johnson
On what brought him to Florida Atlantic
"This type of offense, this Air Raid offense, they like to throw the ball. Last year, just seeing Caden Veltkamp sling the ball around, seeing what he can do with the rock in his hands and how he can make different reads and pick apart defenses. Just seeing how they can try to get the ball to everyone, not just one player, one player may shine the most, but everyone is still going to get their parts. Just talking to Coach Dulaney throughout the recruiting process, just him speaking on what they really needed in that room, I felt like I was a player that can step in and make something happen in that position. Me knowing how I can carry the ball, how I can move around with the ball, block, whatever I need to do for the team I feel like I can be the guy you can put there to make it happen and there's people behind me that also push me to do things. We have guys like Brooks Johnson who we go out and we work, Marcus Vinson who we go over plays together. It's more of an iron sharpens iron situation."
On his family being local
"That most definitely played a major role, just bringing my father up here on a visit and him just falling in love with the campus, the coaches, the culture of the program, not being too far away. Just being able to go back home any time I want to, to see my family, my little sister, my brothers, anybody. Being able to just be back where I have been my whole life."
On what he was seeking before choosing FAU
"Even from high school, I was never really a guy that would close any doors. I was open to going anywhere…After a while, I started narrowing the options I was like 'ok, maybe I do want to come back home, maybe I do want to spend my last year around my people, around people like me.' My whole college career I was in the northeast, so around a lot of Philly guys, Baltimore, Maryland, New York, New Jersey. It was more like a culture shock again because me coming back home, I missed this. I hadn't been around a lot of Floridians and southern people in a little minute, so it was really a culture shock just to come back home and experience that again."
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.
LADIES NIGHT
Florida Atlantic football and Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley invites fans to participate in the 2026 Ladies Night presented by The Power of Sports, scheduled for Thursday, April 23 from 6-9 p.m. The event will take place at the Schmidt Family Complex, next to Flagler Credit Union Stadium at 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Fla. Parking will be in Lot 5, north of the stadium. Dress for the fun and informative night in your best FAU athletic attire as participants will enjoy exclusive shopping, a silent auction, dinner and drinks, on-field drills, as well as time with the Owls' coaching staff, their wives, and players. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for the 6 p.m. event. Admission is $125 for single entry and $225 for a pair. To register, please click HERE. Sponsorships are also available.
FOLLOW THE TEAM
Stay informed by reading FAUSports.com or through football's Twitter and Instagram accounts @FAUFootball.
Players Mentioned
OL
/ Football
DL
/ Football
WR
/ Football
OL
/ Football
TE
/ FootballTE
/ Football
S
/ Football
TE
/ Football
DT
/ Football
LS
/ Football
P/K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
QB
/ FootballTE
/ Football
S
/ Football Antonio Fenelus mic’d up
Tuesday, March 24
Spring Practice #3
Tuesday, March 24
Spring Practice #1, 2026
Tuesday, March 17
Inside the Owls Burrow 2025-26 Spring Show #5
Monday, March 16