New head coach Tom Herman excited as Florida Atlantic opens spring football
BOCA RATON — New Florida Atlantic football coach Tom Herman spent the past two years out of the sport. Hired in December, he said he was aching to get back on the field and the time spent away had "been a blur."
Tuesday morning saw the FAU football team take to the Schmidt practice fields for the first spring practice under its new head coach. The players had been working on conditioning while the coaching staff had been installing the game plan and scheme Herman wants to use when the season rolls around.
Now, it was time for football.
"It felt awesome. I sprang out of bed this morning. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. Not because of nerves but because of excitement," Herman said. "I have absolutely fallen in love with this team. I think that they are full of pleasers. They are guys that want to win, that want to be shown how to win.
"We have a lot of room for improvement, certainly, but for me personally it was very cathartic to get back out there and watch the guys run around a little bit."
Herman said it felt like business as usual, but he added he doesn’t take it for granted. The 47-year-old head coach recalled his wife saying the day of his introductory news conference that he “looked alive again.”
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Under former head coach Willie Taggart, the Owls went 5-7 last season, missing out on a bowl game for the second straight year. Herman has said “talent was not the reason” for that record.
Herman told The Palm Beach Post that before the spring game next month he wants to see toughness from the team.
“You can overcome so many deficiencies with effort, intensity and love for your teammates and coaches," he said. "There's talent in this building, and it's our job as coaches to not just teach them the plays but to teach them how to be a champion. So there's a lot that goes into it that is, quite frankly, new for these guys.
“We're not going to run any secret plays. We want to run inside zone just like everybody else. It's our job to make sure that we do it more physically and with a greater sense of purpose than our opponent. And if we can get to that point by the time the spring game rolls around, then it'll be a successful spring for sure.”
Because it was the first practice of the spring, the team focused more on individual, position drills. FAU will be in full pads for contact Saturday as it's complying with the NCAA acclimation period.
Herman skipped film of 2022 Owls
To determine which players would get first-team reps, Herman said he didn’t base it off last year’s performances. The former Houston and Texas coach said that he didn’t watch a lot of film from the 2022 season.
“Everybody is starting square one," he said. "The guys that ran out there today with the ones were the guys that have earned it through January and February. Purposefully, I haven't watched any film from last year. I did when I got the first call from (Athletic Director) Brian White, but after that, I haven't.
"Now our recruiting staff and coordinators have because we got to figure out the roster management and in terms of recruiting, but it's literally, what have you done and what are you going to do the next play?”
A position that wasn’t in doubt last year was quarterback. It was N’Kosi Perry’s job for the taking. In 2023, there will be a quarterback battle.
Herman described the quarterback room as “scary,” as it contains newcomers Daniel Richardson and Ben Ballard, and returners Tyriq Starks and Michael Johnson Jr., who will miss the entire spring camp while rehabbing an injury.
In terms of the defense, Herman said he likes the experience but still needs to see them in full pads to give a full evaluation.
“I think Teja [Young] and Armani [Eli-Adams] provide some welcomed leadership back there in the back end. We've got guys up front that have played a lot of football here as well,” Herman said. “The inside linebacker spot is the one that we definitely need to keep our eye on and develop guys quickly because it's thin and a bit inexperienced.”
The team will have practice on Thursday and Saturday to close out the week and will continue to prepare for the spring game on Saturday, April 15, at FAU Stadium.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU football coach Tom Herman excited for Owls' first spring practice
