Football Practice #2 Complete – Newly Named VP/AD Josh McCowan Addresses Team

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic football team was cautioned on Wednesday, after practice #1, that Thursday's practice, #2, would be under clear skies and to expect soreness from the first practice strain following summer conditioning.

Both proved to be true; however, the Owls responded and were praised for their day two efforts by Hagerty Family Head Football Coach Zach Kittley. The defense was where Kittley directed his attention for an interception early in practice and multiple fumble recoveries on the defensive field.

Kittley was not the only person to address the Owls following Wednesday's practice. The Owls head coach closed out post-practice remarks by introducing Josh McCowan, FAU's newly hired vice president and director of athletics. McCowan will officially be welcomed to Florida Atlantic on Friday at 3 p.m. The full event can be watched on ESPN+.

QUOTABLE
Defensive Coordinator Brett Dewhurst
On the continuity of the defense
"Like everybody in the in the portal and teams that have been successful, can you retain your players that you have? We did a pretty good job with that. That is good that the guys want to be here and have the means to be here, I cannot say enough about that. And then you are always trying to upgrade, in every which way, an upgrade from a talent perspective, from a proven standpoint of guys that have played football, older. Everybody is trying to do that, get older guys that have been there, done that, and still recruit high school at a high level and still bridge the gap for those times to still develop. And I think that is what we truly believe in is recruiting high school kids, but they are not always ready to play. It has been good in the fact that compared to these other teams in our conference that have had a lot of success, they have to come in with new head coaches and go sign 70 players, at least [here] you have guys coming back, the whole staff is back, and you have these guys that have been here year-round. So, your year-round plan is different. We just talked about the first day we got back, it has been four weeks of football, one-on-one meetings and then 27 football schools, spring practice, the summer, the player-ran stuff, and so we have probably done as much football in one calendar year than I have ever been a part of. Now, we know what to do for the most part. It is refreshing, and then how to do it and doing it with a violent edge about us, that is the biggest thing I want to see from those guys."

On how the continuity has helped practice go smoothly
"They are still kids, right, they still do not know what they do not know. But there is so much more now, we are not just teaching everything from scratch…They can just recollect everything that they have been taught. That makes it an advantage where you can go through it quicker and install what you know how to do from a defensive standpoint and then you can start teaching more of what do offenses do to attack you instead of just teaching 'this is your job and responsibility'. Now it is, how we always talk about, communicate and anticipate, try to play ahead of the play, and the game within the game, on everything that an offense is trying to do… That is where we were as coaches: moving on to the next phase of what offenses will do to attack you so you can put yourself in better positions and then playing fast and violent. That is the number one thing we are doing right now. You get out of football school world and play around the practice world of responsibilities, and now it is all the physical part."

On names to watch this year
"Starting up front, CJ (Doggette Jr.) obviously went to [2026 American Conference Kickoff] and is a captain for us, the heartbeat up front. Blake Burris is another guy under Coach Kittley out of Texas Tech, came and had a big spring. Then we went and got Jonathan Bax and Jay Crable in the portal who have played a lot of football. They have played ball, they are experienced, they work hard, and so we are expecting really big things from them, we are going to hold them in a high standard. And the good thing is they want to be coached really hard. And that are always signs of good teams. You have to go out there and prove it on the field, but guys that have played ball, want to be coached hard, that have been there, done that. And then guys that have played some snaps like Josh Roberts last year, Gavench (Marcelin), Corey Clark came in, Wilky (Denaud) moved inside, he has played a lot of ball. So there is a competitive edge with all of those guys up front, which Coach [Kittley] always talks about tip of the spear, winning up front in a run league. [We have] three games against option teams, so you always have to be able to stop the tough run. So that is where it all starts, and then at linebacker we have Leon Hart Jr. back, another captain. You look at our captains between CJ, Leon, Tyson (Rooks), guys at every level. Then we have plenty guys that were not captains that, in my mind, can speak up as much of those guys. We have Joe Sipp that came in, we are expecting really big things from him. He was at Bowling Green, all-conference player that went to Kansas…He is a guy that can really trigger, play fast, play good in space, solid tackler, and then you still have Khmari Johnson that is coming back, and then we ended up bringing in Nate (Fischer). We have depth, so as injuries occur guys can play multiple positions. In the secondary, Chris Tooley is coming back. He played a lot of snaps. He can play nickel, he can play safety, he has some versatility. Jayden Sweeney is returning at safety. Damon Allen, that was at nickel and had a role as a true freshman, came back and is playing some safety, Damarius McGhee at corner. There are some guys in the secondary that are a little bit younger or that have played some ball, and I am really excited to see this fall camp of who is going to step up. I was looking at something the other day, who do we count on and put on the board of, we go to war with and win with, we feel confident with? I think that is what fall camps are for and in a short amount of time that we have to make decisions on."

Senior Edge Jonathan Bax
On choosing Florida Atlantic
"I am blessed to be at FAU. It felt like open arms as soon as I came to the program. I had been with Coach (Brandon) Lacy, our EDGE coach for a long time, he recruited me out of high school…in [the transfer portal] process, I really appreciate Coach Lacy. He never gave up on me, always believed in me and I believe in him, I believe in Coach Dew [Dewhurst]."

On facing off against option teams
"We are definitely looking forward to it, especially as a defensive unit, because option is repetitive, it is the same thing, you know it is coming and it is basically the other team trying to tell you they will out-tough you the whole game. We want to take on that challenge at FAU…It shows that we can be tough. We brought the size in. We have the bodies we need and it is time to just go put it out on the field."

Grad TE AJ Johnson
On what drew him to Florida Atlantic
"Throughout my recruiting process, I was told that [Florida Atlantic] needed more route running tight ends, more dynamic tight ends, guys that could fit in the run game, pass game, and move everywhere on the field, basically. Just seeing since I have been here, proving us right of what we needed and showing us that we are really about that…You know, we still have guys that can make plays. If they want to double guys, we always have someone open."

On his knowledge of the game growing
"I had a basic knowledge of the game, different coverages and different looks, and formation wise. Just being here with Coach (Jajuan) Dulaney, he has had us watching film and looking at keys…and just knowing how our defense operates and being able to anticipate what they will do according to however you line up in the plays. It is almost like you know what is going to work. Being around some great minds like that, it does help you elevate your game also and just knowing when you watch film, you know what to look for when you are studying the team's defense and it is just like simple things like that. It is really simple, but at the same time, it is something hard to pick up on if you are not knowing what to look for."

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