The Owls wrapped up their first three days of Fall Camp Friday afternoon, very likely welcoming a well deserved day off for Saturday. Heat indexes have averaged near 110′ by the end of the first trio of sessions with little change on the horizon as another large plume of Saharan dust has emerged off the African coast and is making its way towards south Florida.
Despite the heat, intensity seemed to pick up on Friday with many players showcasing their skillsets while coaches continued to hammer home fundamentals surrounding pace, intensity, and conditioning.
After a pair of player interviews on Thursday, the first quartet of speakers was presented to the media on Friday, and featured Special Team Coordinator Tyler Schovanec, Defensive Coordinator Brett Dewhurst, Long Snapper Jackson Brown, and Defensive back Wendol Philord.
Bringing Them Up
Fraternities employ the big brother concept, and while football teams don’t do it formally there are often times unofficial adoptions that take place. The seemed to be evident with Keon Rohe, who might have adopted the freshman offensive lineman Landon Rapkiewicz a technical perspective. They appeared together a few times throughout drills (pictured above left to right, photo Rick Henderson).
Offensive line is one of three areas Coach Kittley and staff are hopeful for significant performance increases, as it all starts up front from a protection perspective for his high octane passing game.
Special Leaders
Jackson Lee will be making his debut at long snapper after transferring from FIU this past season. And while a veteran who brings a ton of experience to the position and to the special teams unit at large he doesn’t consider himself the leader of the pack per se. Rather, he awards that position in a co-title to both kicker Garrison Smith and punter Logan Lupo.
“Lupo has obviously been here a while now and has performed on the field”, said Lee. “He’s always helping out Alex our young punter with punting techniques but he can also kick, so he is helping them when they are holding.”
“Garrison is just kind of that glue that brings everyone together”, Lee continued. “He always has a positive energy and a positive mindset, so he brings them together then also helps them with their field goals, kicks, and whatever needs to be tweaked.”
Industry onlookers seem to agree with Lee on Lupo as well. Lupo was named to the Ray Guy Award list today which honors the nation’s most outstanding punter.
Very Impressive
We are just three days into the fall sessions, but in actuality some players have been here since the spring. And coaches have had a chance to glean a more complete observation of their trends, habits, and ultimately overall skillsets.
Defensive Coordinator Brett Dewhurst has a few favorites that have impressed him, and shared them with us today during his first media appearance of the fall series. He and Coach Schovanec will appear multiple times throughout camp.
WHO HAS REALLY IMPRESSED @FAUFootball DC @BrettDewhurst so far though Spring and now early Fall Camp? While someone in particular takes the clear lead call, there are many others as he tells @FAUOwlCreative 🎙️ #FAU 🦉🏈 pic.twitter.com/JhnoR5S4TJ
— FAU Owls Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) August 1, 2025
Depth Chart Upgrade
FAU was thin in the secondary last season, especially when injuries compounded matters and players were forced to play hurt, or play through adversity while being banged up. Fortunately a thoughtful recruiting strategy has seen them stock up at key defensive spots to offset the risk moving forward.
One such position is the secondary, which is where Wendol Philord found himself playing hobbled in the 2024 stanza. he sees not only depth added but also a decrease in the parity of the positions themselves within the chart.
“It’s not like you are just putting the ones out there and they are playing the whole season whether they are hurt or not because eventually you are going to get burnt out”, Philord said. “Having a few that can come in and play just as good as you and there is no drop-off makes a way better feeling. It’s not like we have have twos, we have two sets of ones.”
Up Next
FAU will return to the Schmidt Center Sunday morning for Day 4 of Fall action in paradise. Coach Chris Perkins and the running back room will be the focus of our interviews and coverage as we shift into positional previews. The Owls are also continuing to work towards their first fully padded / full contact session. That will take place on Day 6, Tuesday, August 5th.